A pool and Secrets
by Nita0502
Summary: While travelling back from a meeting with another kingdom Arthur and merlin get separated from the knights and stumble upon a cave which leads to hidden pool. This pool will change their lives and fate forever. Will eventually have mpreg.
1. Chapter 1

A Pool and Secrets

Pairings: Arthur/Merlin

Warnings: Angst, fluff, mpreg (you have been warned), slight AU, male/male slash

Summary: While travelling back from a meeting with another kingdom Arthur and Merlin get separated from the knights and stumble upon a cave which leads to hidden pool. This pool will change their lives and fate forever.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. This story is just my wishful thinking.

Chapter One

"Merlin. Merlin. MERLIN!"

Merlin awoke to a hard slap on his cheek, which he is sure will leave a mark. He looked up at who slapped him and his gaze falls to that of his king and secret love. His sandy blonde hair and his gorgeous blue eyes. Merlin sits up and rubs his cheek with a pout.

"What was that for?" he asks as he rubs his cheek. Arthur rolls his eyes and gets up to go over to the table in his rooms, sitting on a chair.

"Well I had to get you up somehow considering you would not wake when I called you. Now get you bumbling bum out of bed and fetch me breakfast. After that you need to get my stuff ready for our journey home." Arthur then turned his attention to the pile of documents on the table in front of him. Making sure he had all the documents from the treaty he had just signed with his neighbouring kingdom, Emerald.

"Didn't have to slap me so hard. What if I have brain damage?" Merlin continues to pout and get out of bed.

"If you do not have brain damage after all the times I have hit you, I don't believe you ever will. Perhaps one day I will actually knock some brains into you. Lord knows you need them." Arthur stated not looking up from the paperwork.

"Why do I even love you?" Merlin whispered.

"What did you say Merlin?"

"Nothing Sire." Merlin sighed. As Merlin was making the beds that were slept in that night there was a knock on the door. Both heads turned to the door.

"Enter." Called Arthur. In stepped Gwaine with a wide smile on his face.

"Good morning, my Lord. How are you this fine morning?" he asked with a bow.

"I'm good. And what has you in such a fine mood this morning Gwaine? It being so early and all." Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow. This made Gwaine smile even bigger.

"Just had a fine night with a nice lass is all, my lord. All the knights are up and are getting ready to head out for Camelot, my lord." He bowed.

"Good. Good. I will be to if my servant would hurry up!" Arthur said as he turned to look at Merlin who had just finished tidying the beds.

"Ok. Ok. I'm going. Don't get your crown in a twist." And with that he walked to the door and exited catching glimpse of Arthur as he left. Merlin turned right at the end of the path and headed towards the kitchen_. 'If only he ever saw me as more than a servant… Hah. Get it together Merlin. There is no way that the king will ever see you in such a light. He is happily engaged to Gwen and always will be in love with her. He will never love you.' _He had arrived at the kitchen and started to load up a plate for Arthur with a sigh.

* * *

A few hours later Arthur, Merlin and the knights had departed from Emerald and were on their way home to Camelot.

"So Merlin. Do you have a person you fancy back at Camelot?" Gwaine asked and everybody turned their head to await an answer from Merlin smiles on their faces.

"Perhaps. Why?" he asked suspicious. It's not every day that the bring up this type of conversation. But it was Gwaine, he was always starting random conversations.

"No reason really. Have you ever asked her out?" Gwaine asked with a smile. He leaned closer to Merlin. "Or done some other stuff with her?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

"No! They are engaged to another and do not notice me at all. It is just wishful thinking that they would one day grow to love me." He finished with a sad smile.

"I'm sure you will find somebody one day Merlin." Piped up Percival, giving him a pat on the back.

"Yea if they can get over how much of an imbecile you are." Joked Arthur.

"You are so funny, my lord" spoke Merlin turning his head away, only one person noticing him wipe away a solitary tear at those hurtful words.

"Anyway we should pay attention to the surroundings. This area is a prime spot for bandits and the like." Stated Arthur receiving nods from the others in acknowledgement. The knights surrounded Arthur with Merlin coming up behind him. Merlin couldn't help himself and started to stare at Arthur's back. He quickly turned his head sideways before anybody could catch him doing it.

There was a quiet birdsong that started to the left of them. This song gave Merlin a bad feeling. "I have a bad feeling about this Arthur" he said. He started turning his head from side to side, waiting for something bad to happen.

"Really Merlin. Please will you just…" Arthur started to say before an arrow was shot and just missed Arthur by millimetres, imbedding in a nearby tree. Everybody got off their horses and formed a circle around Arthur and Merlin. "It's an ambush. Hold your positions." A group of men surrounded them leaving no room to escape. Their leader standing on a rock up ahead with two swords held in his hand and snarl on his lips.

"Why if it isn't king Arthur of Camelot? Quite a long way from home aren't you." He sneered, jumping down from the rock causing his long black hair to fall in front of his eyes. "Bet you don't remember me do you? The names Alar. You banished me and my brother. Now I think it is your time to die." He laughed.

"You were banished for good reason. You did not deserve your position as a knight. You and your brother leaving your posts cost many lives." He said as he got in Alar's face. His own sneer fixed upon his face as he gazed into the deep brown eyes of the man before him.

Alar's eyes travelled to the man behind Arthur. "Why if it isn't Merlin? The kings constant shadow." He moved around Arthur and lifted his hand to Merlin's cheek. Still red from this morning when Arthur had slapped it to wake him up. "Such a pretty thing. Always wondered what it would have been like to bed you." Merlin looked aghast at that comment. "Bet you're a screamer." He laughed as Merlin glared at him.

"Don't you touch him!" Screamed Arthur. He had turned around just in time to see Alar place his hand on Merlin's cheek.

Alar moved behind Merlin pulling him to his chest resting his chin on Merlin's shoulder. "Why Arthur, such concern for a servant. Perhaps you know what I am talking about already. Hmm? Does he grace your bed at night?" he slapped Merlin's bum causing him to stumble forward. "Well when you're dead I guess I'll find out for myself." He laughed.

Arthur raised his sword and attacked. "We will see about that." And with that all hell broke loose. Arthur and Alar's swords clashed as the knights took this as their cue to defend themselves against the men surrounding them. Merlin made his way to the side picking up a fallen sword and trying to help when he could. "Ahh." Merlin looked to Arthur and noticed Alar had slashed his arm with one of his swords. Alar raised his sword to deliver a final blow to the king while was distracted.

A.N. Hope this is good for my first go at posting a story. I do not have a beta so I hope the spelling and grammar is okay. I will be glad to hear what people thought of it so please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Two**

***warning there will be a lemon in this chapter. Skip if you do not wish to read***

Anyway I hope this chapter is as good as the first one. Enjoy!

"No!" Merlin in a split second noticed a sharp rock lying next to him on ground and with a muttered spell and a golden flash of his eyes the rock was hurtling towards Alar. The stone hit him on the side of the head causing it to split open. Alar reached his hand up to his temple and pulled his hand away noticing the blood.

"Who did this?" he asked as he turned around trying to find the culprit. While Alar was distracted Merlin came up beside Arthur and pushed him towards the right heading into the woods. He turned his head back around to notice the knights following behind him.

"Nothing like a little exercise right, my lord?" Gwaine laughed as he followed directly behind Merlin. Just then Arthur stumbled a bit and shook his head as if trying to fling something away. "Are you alright Sire?" Gwaine asked concerned.

"I'm fine." He waved his hands in dismissing manor.

They heard Alar scream to his men. "After them do not let them get away!"

The group paused long enough for Gwaine to say, "Get Arthur out of here. You go that way," he pointed to the left, "and the rest of the knights will that way," pointing to the right. Merlin nodded and started to lead Arthur to the left.

"No we should stick together." Stated Arthur trying to pull Merlin back the other way. "It is not safe to split up." Merlin pulled Arthur back the way they were going before Arthur turned back.

"They have already gone Arthur. Come on before Alar and his men find us and kill us." He tugged Arthur again. "We should find somewhere to hide for a while until we can meet up with the others and head home."

"Yes well, if they find us I'm the one who will be killed. Alar has another use for you, pretty thing." And with that he started to laugh. "Even though I have no idea why, what with those big ears of yours and the constant talking. To think he actually wants you in his bed. Well until he realises how much of a bumbling buffoon you can be." He laughed.

Merlin had a strained smile on his face grabbing at his chest which had stated to ache for some reason. '_Breathe Merlin. He only says this to get a rise out of you. If only it didn't hurt so much every time he jests. I wish for once destiny would be easy. Settle down with somebody to love me not gallivanting around after his royal pain in the ass." _ A hiss of pain interrupted his thoughts. He turned round to see Arthur holding his hand to his arm with a grimace of pain on his beautiful face. "Shut up brain!" he chastised himself.

He walked over to Arthur and swiped his hand away. "Here let me have a look at that before you open it up anymore." The first thing he noticed was all the blood seeped into his shirt. He pulled the shirt up and noticed that the cut was releasing a steady flow of blood. "You have lost a lot of blood. We need to find a stream or a pool of water so I can get a better look at it. Maybe have a bath too. You smell awful, like you have been rolling in horse dung all day. Guess it's just how you usually smell though I suppose." Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin took off the scarf he always wore from around his neck and tied it around his around Arthurs arm. "This should do for now, but let me know if it get worse at all. I mean it Arthur, straight away." He pointed a finger at him.

"God Merlin anybody would think you were a woman with you harping on like that. It's just a scratch it will be fine." He waved his hands in a dismissing gesture. Merlin glared at him and was just about to start a tirade at the king when they heard a rustling of the trees behind them.

"I see them my lord!" They looked behind them to see a man in armour not of their knights heading towards them. Both men turned and started to run, trying to weave in and out of the trees as the soldier was gaining on them. Arthur was starting to slow down and his breathe was becoming laboured. Merlin noticed a slight decline to the left that led down to a large clearing filled with bushes and tall trees and two narrow paths that broke away from either side.

"This way Arthur, come on. Maybe we can lose him in there." Arthur nodded and they both headed towards the clearing. The decline giving Arthur and Merlin more distance between them and the soldier following behind them. As they reached the bottom, the soldier must have tripped on a vine or root sticking up from the ground as he started to roll down the hill, his helmet coming off. They took this as their chance to gain more distance as he seemed to be disorientated. Arthur and Merlin headed off into the trees trying to not leave any clues behind. As they were running towards one of the passages Merlin noticed a large bush with vines growing all over it in front of a large rock face. He was getting a strange feeling from the bush. He walked over to the bush and raised one of his arms towards it.

"Merlin, what are you doing? Come on, we need to leave before he catches up to us." He walked over to Merlin and shook his shoulder, pulling him from the trance that he was in. "Hurry up."

Merlin looked at Arthur. "I'm sorry I just have a weird feeling about this bush. I think we should hide behind it." He grabbed Arthurs hand and started heading towards the side of the bush."

"Ohhh great, one of your weird feelings again." Arthur raised his arm in expiration. "I swear we can't go anywhere anymore without you getting one of your weird feelings. I think that you just make these things up. Just to make you sound all-knowing and mysterious. I'm telling you I don't buy it." He said pointing a finger at Merlin.

Merlin was just about to retort when they heard multiple footfalls coming their way. The others must have caught up to the soldier and were getting closer to them. Merlin grabbed Arthurs hand before he could say anything and pushed him to the large bush. The gap was not very big between the bush and the rock face behind it so they had to squeeze to get in. Just as Merlin made it behind the bush they heard the heavy footfalls stop before their hiding place. Merlin and Arthur held their breath waiting to see if they would be discovered.

"Where could they have gone!" they heard Alar scream at the top of his voice. There was a ruffling of fabric and then they heard Alar's voice again, "are you sure they game this way?"

"Yes Sir. I saw them head in this direction. I'm positive." They heard a loud thump and assumed that Alar had released the hold he had on the soldiers clothing.

"Spread out and search this whole area. Hopefully they have not gone far." And with that sentence the two men listened as the men scampered to follow their leaders order.

Merlin let out a small sigh and leaned back only to fall backwards as there was no solid surface behind him. Arthur turned around and laughed at his servant. "There is no rock there to lean on Merlin."

"Yes I know that now, don't I?" Merlin scowled at the king above him, muttering "pompous ass" when he showed no sign of stopping.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, Sire."

"Sure….." Arthur looked through the darkness down the tunnel trying to see how far it went. "We should see how far this tunnel goes. Perhaps it leads to another opening somewhere, or at least somewhere that we can defend ourselves from." Arthur help Merlin up and they started their journey down the tunnel.

As they got further and further down the tunnel Merlin noticed that Arthurs breathing had become more laboured and he noticed him scuff his feet a few times. "Are you okay Arthur? Maybe we should rest for a bit."

"No I'm fine. I'm sure the tunnel does not go for too much longer." Arthur replied. At the same time they noticed that the tunnel seemed to be getting lighter. They could see where they going more clearly now. "See I think we are almost out on the other side." Arthur picked up his pace to get to the other opening quicker. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed that the tunnel did not lead to another opening but to a small cavern with a small pool of water. "Damn I was hoping we could get out of here. Oh well I guess we will have to make do until Alar and his men leave so we can meet up with the knights and go home." With that Arthur went over to a small rock beside the pool and sat down. He grimaced and started to move his shoulder in small circles to relieve the pain and stiffness.

"Here let me take a look it." Merlin said as he made his way over to Arthur removing his scarf from the injured appendage. He dipped the scarf in the pool and once rung out ran it over the cut trying to remove the blood that had dried.

Arthur moved his arm away from the wet clothing. "Ow Merlin. Be more gentle, will you."

"You big baby." Merlin laughed. He repeated the process until he could see the cut and assess the damage. "The bleeding has stopped so that is good and it does not look as though it will become infected either. You just need to take it easy and not over do it."

"Yeah, take it easy. Like I can take it easy when I might have to fight our way out of here because you can't fight." Arthur said raising his arms in expiration.

The wizard glared at Arthur, "you know what I mean!" he ripped a piece of his shirt and tied it around Arthur's arm because the scarf was obviously wet. "I honestly don't know why I even bother."

"Oh you have such a hard life Merlin." Arthur leaned over to the side to splash his face water and take huge gulps of water. Laying down he said "I'm beat. You have first watch." And promptly fell asleep. Merlin rolled his eyes, then went over to the pool of water and also splashed his face. He found a comfy spot to sit while Arthur took a nap.

A couple of hours later Merlin noticed that Arthur was starting to become a bit flushed. Worried he went over to Arthur and shook his shoulder to wake him up. "Arthur, wake up. You look a bit flushed, are you alright?" Arthur blinked his eyes a couple of times and then stared up into the face of his servant.

"Merlin?" he asked.

"Yeah." All of a sudden Arthur sat up and started to take off his chainmail. "Umm… Arthur what are you doing?" he asked, blushing as the king started remove his shirt as well. Arthur noticed that Merlin was talking to him and turned to face him. Merlin backed up until he bumped into a rock as Arthur leaned forward sniffing Merlin's neck.

"Mmmm. You smell nice Merlin. Can I taste you?" before Merlin could reply Arthur had crawled over and began to lick and suck Merlin's neck. When Arthur began sucking on a Merlin's pulse point, Merlin let out a load moan. Surprised, he placed his hands over his mouth. While Merlin was preoccupied Arthur slowly manoeuvred the smaller man so he was lying on the ground with the king in between his legs.

Merlin pushed against Arthur's shoulders, "what are you doing? I think you are delirious Arthur! What about Gwen?" He tried to push harder but it was no use. He moaned again as Arthur's hands started to creep up his shirt and pinch his nipples. "Oh my God that is soooo good! Wait. No. We shouldn't be doing this. Ahh!" he raised his chest off the ground at a particularly hard twist to his nipples.

Arthur raised his head and stare down at Merlin. "Gwen schmem. All I know is that I want you right now. You smell so good and I just need to do more with you. We can right Merlin?" again not waiting for an answer and repeated his previous actions to the other side of the panting wizards neck.

"God Arthur you make it so hard to resist." He moaned again. Arthur raised his head again from the delectable neck before him and stared down into the hazel eyes of his servant.

"Then don't. C'mon you know you want to." And with that he pressed his lips down onto the man's below.

The wizard resisted trying to find the will power to stop the king from going any further. _'We shouldn't be doing this. I should make him stop. He obviously doesn't know what he is doing because there is no way he would ever be doing this with me. But lord does this feel so good and so right. No we should stop. But this may be my only chance to ever do this with the man I love. No. Yes. No. Oh what the hell!" _With the internal battle over Merlin raised his arm and folded them around Arthur's neck moulding his body to the kings as he kissed back as if his life depended on it.

The next thing Merlin knew their clothes were removed and he had tangled his fingers in Arthur's hair as the blonde moved lower towards his hard appendage. "Ahh!" he screamed as Arthur found what he was looking for and started to lick around the tip. "Oh my…Ahh!" Arthur had taken his cock right up to the base. Merlin tried very hard not to pull Arthur's hair as he experienced the most amazing pleasure he had ever felt. All of a sudden Arthur pulled his mouth away from Arthur's cock letting it flop back onto Merlin's stomach. "What! Why did you stop!?" Arthur just smirked and lifted up Merlins bottom until he was almost bent in half. "Oh my god!" Arthur had started to lick and suck around Merlin's pucker. Loud moans started to come from Merlin again as the king went to town on Merlin's behind. He pushed his hips back with a groan when Arthur began to stab Merlin's ass with his tongue. Arthur paused for a second before he switched around so Merlin could pleasure him while he went back to town.

This continued on for a while before Merlin felt one of Arthur's fingers enter his hole. Merlin paused his sucking with a grimace before resuming once he had gotten used to the intrusion. Arthur had three fingers scissoring inside of Merlin before he thought that was enough preparation. The blonde pulled away, pulling his fingers out before getting into position in between the wizards legs once again. He raised Merlin's hips and got his cock into position. Arthur did not notice Merlins eyes flash when he pushed into the man below. Merlin unknowingly providing extra slickness for a better entrance. They were both panting by the time Arthur was fully sheathed inside his lover. Arthur looked deep into Merlin's eyes before he pulled him into a bruising kiss. He started to move when he felt Merlin wiggle his hips.

Arthur continued to pound into the man below before he must have hit the right spot because Merlin pulled away from the kiss to scream out in pleasure. "Ahh! Do it again! Ahh!" Merlin bit down on his fingers trying to stifle his loud moans. The last thing he wanted was to for Alar and his men to find their hiding spot because of his screaming. Both men felt they were getting close so Arthur reached between them and stroked Merlin in sync with his thrusts. "OH! Oh god! I'm almost there Arthur. Ah. Ah Ahhhhh!" Merlin screamed as he came between them while Arthur bit Merlin's shoulder during his release.

Arthur pulled away from the wizard smiling down at him. "Alar was right." Merlin looked at him confused. "You are a screamer." He laughed when Merlin hit him on the chest. The king pulled out of Merlin and came to rest beside Merlin pulling him into his arms. He was asleep in seconds; when Merlin felt the steady rise and fall of Arthur's chest he got up and went to wash off at the pool. Merlin got dressed after he dried himself off with magic and sat down across from his sleeping lover watching him sleep.

The next morning Merlin was looking at his reflection in the water when all of the sudden Arthur woke with a start. Merlin heard the king shifting behind him. "Umm, Merlin?"

Merlin turned around to face the confused king. "Yeah?"

"Why am I naked?"

AN. I had some great reviews and quite a few people decided to follow this story or make it one of their favourites. It made me so happy. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the second instalment of the story and I can't wait for the next lot of reviews *hint hint*. Just letting you know that the next chapter may not be till the next year because I am going away for Christmas holiday and cannot take my laptop with me. Although I will be taking a pen and notebook in case my muse hits me.


	3. Chapter 3

A Pool and secrets

Chapter Three

A.N. Sorry for the long wait I had a long holiday. Thank you all for the reviews so far. I hope that you will enjoy the next instalment of A pool and Secrets. Enjoy!

Merlin stared at Arthur for what felt like years before he got the courage to answer the king. Already predicting that he would not like the answer "You don't remember what happened last night?" He tried to stay looking at the king but he couldn't stand to see his face when he answered so he turned to stare into the pool of water before him.

"No. The last thing I remember I had a drink of water and went to sleep. I definitely wasn't naked then so will you please tell me what the hell happened last night. If you tried to take advantage of me I'll kill you."

Merlin wiped away the solitary tear rolling down his face and forced a before he turned around. "Hah like I would want to do anything like that with you. If you have forgotten your own gender, let me remind you you're a man. You went to sleep and must have got hot during the night because you just started undressing and I tried to wake you but you wouldn't wake so I left you." With that he turned back to water so Arthur would not see the pain in his eyes. _'You stupid, stupid man. I should have seen this coming. I can never have an easy life. Fate is always screwing with me.' _As Merlin was staring in the water there was a ripple in the water and he saw what appeared to be a baby for a second. Merlin rubbed his eyes and stared at the water once again; this time not seeing anything but the water in the pool. _'What was that? I could have sworn I saw a baby. Why would a pool of water show me a baby? Hmm..I know you have finally lost your mind Merlin. All these years with Arthur; it was bound to happen sometime. Perhaps I should ask Gaius about this when we get back to Camelot. Well if we get back.'_

"Oh, right." Arthur said. "Well we should go see if Alar and his men have gone from our hiding place and go home. I miss my future queen." Arthur got up and started to get dressed in his clothes once more, trying not to re-open the wound on his arm. Once dressed Arthur turned to Merlin and saw him still staring at the water lost in his own little world. "C'mon we have to get moving Merlin." Merlin did not move so Arthur reached down and threw a rock at the dark haired mans head.

"OW!" Merlin screamed. "What was that for?!" he turned towards the king.

"You were not paying attention so I had to punish you." Arthur turned his head with his nose in the air. "You should listen when your king is talking to you, not away with the fairies. Now c'mon we need to get going. With any luck Alar will have gotten lazy and returned to wherever he came from." Arthur turned and started to head towards the tunnel leaving Merlin behind. Merlin glared at the kings back before stealing a glance of the water once more and when he saw nothing still he turned to follow Arthur.

They travelled along the long path until they reached the entrance hidden by bush and vines. Arthur waved his hand to Merlin telling him to stop. He walked up to the bush and listened for any noises. All he heard was the sound of the forest around him and birds in the distance. He stood there for a while to make sure that they were not being tricked. When he still heard nothing he waved his hand to Merlin and started to leave the tunnel. Arthur squeezed through the small space between the rock face and the large bush waiting for Merlin to follow. As Merlin was squeezing through he tripped on a loose vine and came crashing into Arthur. This caused them both to go tumbling to the ground with Merlin on top of the king. They stared into each other's eyes before Merlin scrambled to get up with deep red blush gracing his cheeks. "For god sakes Merlin can you watch where you are going?" He said getting up from the ground, dusting off his clothes.

"Sorry."

"Right lets go. Try not to trip over anything and be quiet. I know it's hard for you but try." Arthur said before he started heading towards the direction that they had come the day before. Merlin rolled his eyes and followed the king once more.

They were almost at the spot that they had encountered Alar and his men the day before when they heard a rustling on the other side of some bushes. Merlin and Arthur paused and crept over to the bushes trying not to make a sound. Arthur peaked through the bush and found that their horses were on the other side. The king checked the surrounding forest to make sure that it was not an ambush. Once assured that it wasn't an ambush he and Merlin made their way over to the horses. Arthur turned to Merlin and told him to tie the others horses to their saddles. Merlin nodded and started to do as the king asked. Once all the horses were tied the two men hopped on their horses and started to head in the direction of home.

"We will head towards home. Hopefully the men got away and have also started the journey home." Arthur said.

"Okay."

The two men travelled until it started to get dark before they found an easily defendable spot to rest for the night. "Merlin, go get some fire wood while I keep watch."

"Yes your highness." Merlin bowed before heading out to find fire wood. The wizard had a large pile of firewood in his arms when he heard a sound of a twig snapping behind him. He stopped in his tracks and listened for a further noise when all of a sudden a hand was placed over his mouth. He freaked dropping the firewood and he tried to get away from his attacker before he realised that the voice talking to him was familiar.

"Shh, Merlin. It's me Gwaine." Merlin turned around and came face to face with Gwaine and the other knights. Gwaine had a huge smile stretched across his face which disappeared when Merlin started to hit his arm cursing at him. Whoa calm down Merlin." He raised his arms and waved them in front of him.

"Calm down! Easy for you to say! You weren't just man handled while trying to collect firewood for his poncy highness!" Merlin shouted.

Gwaine laughed. "So he travels with you then? That's good." Merlin leaned down picking up the firewood that had dropped in his fright. "Here let me help you with that Merlin." Gwaine said before he leaned down to help the young wizard pick up the firewood. As they were both leaning over Merlins scarf around his neck fell forward and Gwaine noticed a red mark on the wizard's neck. "Is that a hickey Merlin?" The other nights turned around at the man's question.

Merlin jumped and clamped a hand over his neck. "O-Of course not. Don't be silly. It's a bug bite; there were a lot in the cave where we stayed last night."

"Oh, of course. How silly of me." Gwaine plastered a fake smile on his face before helping Merlin to once again pick up the dropped firewood.

Once the firewood was collected, Merlin rose and pointed in the direction of the camp. "We are camped over there." He headed off towards the camp and the other knights followed. When Merlin made it to the clearing where they were staying he called to Arthur. "Hey. Guess who attacked me while I was collecting firewood." Arthur looked up confused and smiled widely once seeing who trailed behind his servant.

"I didn't attack you Merlin. I merely snuck up behind, caught you by surprise and covered your mouth. That's all." He smiled as the smaller man.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well it felt like you were attacking me." The others all laughed.

Arthur went to each man patting them on the shoulder. "I am glad to see you all again. All safe and sound."

"Yeah we managed to lose Alar's men and find a nice place to hide for the night. We couldn't find you this morning so we decide to head back to Camelot to bring back reinforcements. We are also glad that you are safe, my lord." Leon said as they sat by the now roaring fire. While the king and his knights talked, Merlin started preparing dinner for everybody. Every now and then he would sneak glances up at the man who he had shared such a passionate night with last night. Nobody seemed to notice these gazes except for one person.

"The food is ready." Merlin said. He put some in a bowl and handed it to the king.

"Thank you Merlin." Merlin smiled, a blush forming on his cheeks. He dished up bowls for the knights and then went over to his sleeping spot for the night. "Aren't you going to have anything to eat Merlin?" The king looked at his servant in confusion.

Merlin turned to the king. "No I am not hungry."

"Are you sure? You did not eat last night. You must be hungry." Arthur said.

"No thank you, my lord. I am fine. Goodnight." Merlin lied back down and turned his back to the king and his knights.

"Goodnight." Muttered Arthur. He stared at his servants back for a second before he turned back to knights missing the calculating looks thrown between both men.

When the men rose in the morning they readied the horses and set off home for Camelot. The group made it home by mid-afternoon and were greeted by the rest of the knights, Gaius and Gwen. By the time that Arthur had made it off his horse Gwen had rushed over to him and leapt into his arms. They shared a kiss, both of them missing the sad look in Merlins eyes. Merlin hopped down from his horse and turned, shifting his attention to looking after his horse.

The couple stared into each other's eyes with smiles planted firmly on their faces. "I was worried sick. You were due back this morning and when you didn't, I thought something bad had happened." Merlin rolled his eyes.

"We ran into a little bit of trouble nothing major. Just a few cuts and bruises. I'm sure with the help of Gaius we will be healed in no time." Arthur turned to his servant. "Merlin, look after the horses will you; and after that make sure that dinner is underway."

"As you wish, sire." Arthur turned back to Gwen and they made their way up the stone stairs. A lone tear slid down Merlins face. Merlin was so preoccupied with the horses he did not notice that somebody had come up behind him.

"So what really happened between you and Arthur while you were stuck in that cave over night?" Merlin heard behind him. He turned and came face to face with Gwaine.

A.N. Thanks for reading. Hope it was worth the wait and you enjoyed it! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

A pool and secrets

Chapter Four

Merlin stared at Gwaine before turning around pretending to be busy looking after the horse. "I have no idea what you are talking about Gwaine. Nothing happened. He rested, while I kept watch over night. That is all."

Gwaine grabbed Merlin's shoulder spinning him around to face him. "I know something happened. You act differently around him, you had that kiss mark on your neck and you keep on sneaking glimpses up at him filled with such sorrow. Did he do something to you?" he asked with concerned eyes.

"I'm telling you, it is not a kiss mark, its insect bites!" Merlin said. Gwaine scoffed and reached to remove Merlin's scarf from around his neck. Merlin grabbed Gwaine's hand, stopping him from pulling it down. "Don't! Can't you just leave me alone? Nothing happened besides almost being killed by an insane man. I just want to finish up my duties and then retire to my quarters."

"I'm sorry. I just worry about you Merlin." Gwaine sighed.

"I know you do Gwaine and I thank you for being a good friend." Merlin smiled.

"Because I know how much you love him…"

"What?!"

"And I don't want him to take advantage of you, because let's face it Arthur can be pretty dense about some things." Gwaine stared at Merlin.

Merlin was beginning to panic and was starting to feel faint. "W-What? H-How?" He was starting to hyperventilate. Merlin grabbed the horse's reins and almost ran to the stables.

"Merlin!" Gwaine yelled, chasing after the dark-haired man. He found Merlin unsaddling one of the horses. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything. I'm not going to tell anybody, I promise."

Merlin glanced up at Gwaine before adverting his eyes. "H-how did you find out?"

"I don't know. I just watch the way you look at him when nobody is looking, you always do everything for him even if he doesn't thank you and I see your face every time he treats you like you are nothing." Gwaine had gone over to the stable door of the horse Merlin was now brushing. "You were one of my first friends' Merlin and I like to keep an eye out for you. I know how much you care for him and if he asked, I know you would do anything for him. That's why I'm worried that he has taken advantage of you." Gwaine said tenderly.

Merlin smiled at the knight across from him. "You are a good friend, but I am fine. Seriously though, nothing happened."

Gwaine stared at the wizard before him. "Okay, if you say so. But I hope you know that you can always come to me for anything. I will always listen to what you have to say."

Merlin nodded. "Thank you Gwaine." With that Gwaine walked over to where a servant had placed his horse for the night and started to take the saddle off.

"It has been a while since I have brushed my horse after a long journey. I use to find brushing my horse very relaxing at the end of a hard day." Gwaine said.

"I know what you mean. It's very soothing. I like to come here to brush the horses when I want to think sometimes." The two men continued to chat while looking after the horses.

Merlin placed the plates laden with food on the table before the king and his future bride. "Thank you Merlin" said Gwen as he walked passed to the table with the wine.

"You are welcome." Said Merlin bowing to the fiancée of the man he loved.

Arthur looked up after Gwen had kicked him in the shin under the table. "Yes. At least you were on time." He turned his attention to the woman beside him. "So what should we do tomorrow? Maybe a picnic in the forest?" he smiled.

Merlin looked away as Gwen answered him. "Yes I think that would be wonderful. You can tell me all about the treaty signing and your journey home."

"You should have seen the cave we had to stay in while waiting for morning to come. Even though we did not intend to end up there it was really quite breathtaking. I'm sure you would have thought it beautiful."

"I'm sure I would have." Gwen said before leaning over to kiss the king. The kiss started to get really heavy and future queens hands were travelling through Arthur's hair and over his body.

"Get a room." Mumbled Merlin.

Arthur pulled away from Gwen who started to wipe her mouth with the serviette from beside her. "What did you say Merlin?" the king hissed.

"I didn't say anything Sire." Merlin replied.

"Yes you did. I heard you."

"Well you heard wrong, because I did not say anything."

"Yes you did!"

"No I did not." Arthur slammed his fists on the table.

"Children, please." Gwen said and Arthur turned to look at his fiancée in shock. "What? You were acting like children." She stood from the table and faced her future husband. "I'm very tired, so I am going to retire for the night. Excuse me." Gwen kissed Arthur one more time before leaving for her bedroom.

"You did say something."

"No I didn't." the king threw his hands in the air in frustration and headed off to his rooms as well. Merlin smiled before starting to clean up their plates. _'These are the moments that made me fall in love with him. Perhaps one day I will dine with him also. Hah, don't be silly Merlin; you are just a silly servant. I wonder if I would have fallen so hard for him if it wasn't my destiny to stay by his side. I don't think I would have stayed for so long."_

Arthur was pacing backwards and forwards across his room. _'Why did that kiss from Gwen feel different to usual? For some reason it just felt wrong and when Merlin said something I just took it out on him. He always knows how to get to me. Something just feels off after I woke up naked in the cave. Maybe something did happen but Merlin just does not wish to tell me. But what could he not tell me? We have been through a lot together these past few years.'_ Arthur had paused in his pacing and was quietly thinking to himself, only to jump when his door opened. "God Merlin! Have you heard of knocking? You scared me half to death." Arthur had placed a hand over his chest, hoping to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Merlin paused in the doorway. "Sorry Arthur. I did not mean to frighten you." Merlin walked over to the kings' bed and turned down the covers so that the king could go to bed. Arthur watched as a pillow fell to the floor when the wizard did so and as he bent to pick it up Arthur could not help looking at the firm backside of his servant.

Once he realised what he was doing he walked over to the room partition and started to get undressed and ready for bed. _'What the hell was that?! Since when have I stared at Merlin's butt? Never! What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe I should speak to Gaius in the morning. But what will I tell him? Ever since I woke up naked after staying in a cave with my servant I have found it wrong to kiss my wife and have caught myself staring at said servants' derriere. No I can't tell him that. It's just stress. Yes that's it. Stress. Great I'll just get a good night's sleep and it will all be fine in the morning.' _

When Arthur stepped out from behind the partition he found Merlin near the door. "Will you be needing anything else Arthur?"

"Not tonight. But I would like you to make sure that the food for the picnic and the horses are ready to go just before lunch tomorrow." Arthur said sitting on his bed.

"As you wish oh great one." Merlin said with a smile on his face and he headed towards the door.

"Goodnight Merlin." Arthur said before Merlin could reach the door.

Merlin paused and turned confused eyes towards the king. "Goodnight Arthur."

A.N. Well here is another chapter. I know it I not much but I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for all the reviews so far and please keep them coming.


	5. Chapter 5

A pool and secrets

Chapter Five

Merlin was in the kitchen preparing the picnic for Arthur and Gwen when he felt somebody put their hands over his eyes. He panicked before hearing someone say, "Guess who Merlin!" into his ears. Merlin thought over who it could be before he realised that there is only person in the whole castle who would come up behind him and cover his eyes.

"Gwaine! What is it with you and trying to scare me half to death?!" Merlin yelled, turning around to poke his finger to the knight's chest with a glare.

Gwaine laughed. "Sorry Merlin I forget how jumpy you can be. So what are you preparing for his royal highness this fine morning?" he peered over the young man's shoulder picking up an apple from the basket.

Merlin slapped the knight's hand and placed the apple back in the basket. "If you must know I am preparing a picnic for his royal pain in the ass and his future bride. They are heading out around lunch and of course I must make sure that everything is ready on time. I was just finishing up here and then on my way to collect some flowers. Have to make sure it is romantic for them." He said with a sad smile.

"Oh Merlin, he should organise his own flowers even if he is the king." Gwaine patted Merlin on the back with a smile. "It's decided then. I'll come keep you company while you pick flowers for the kings little picnic."

"You don't have to Gwaine. I don't want to take up your time. Don't you have knight stuff to do anyway?" Merlin asked as he did not want to inconvenience his friend.

"Nonsense. It's no bother at all and I have the morning off. Besides it will go faster if we work together. Though I have to admit I'm not sure which flowers would be romantic."

Merlin laughed at the knight. "Don't worry. You just have to pick the ones that look nice. Gwen loves almost anything you give her. She is a very nice person and will make a fine queen when they finally get married. If there is somebody that Arthur is to love and marry I'm glad it is Gwen."

Gwaine swept Merlin into his arms and held him in a tight hug. "You are so strong Merlin. I could never be as strong as you, watching the person you love, loving and marrying another. It would kill me to watch them together and you have to see them together every day probably for the rest of your life. Maybe one day you will forget him and move on."

The young wizard wept at the knight's kind words. "It is my destiny to watch over Arthur even if it does break my heart." This sentence made the knight hold the young man even tighter wishing he could stop the pain and heartache.

Gwaine pushed Merlin out so he was an arm length away and smiled at the wizard. "Come, let's go pick flowers and be merry as they say." Merlin laughed at the man before him. "Ah, now that is a better sight. You look much better with a smile upon your face." With that Merlin blushed from his head down to his toes, as Gwaine laughed.

"Don't pick that Gwaine it is weed not a flower." Merlin told Gwaine when he walked over to a weed bush.

"See this is why I am a knight. I would not be able to pick a flower from a grain of rice." Gwaine huffed.

Merlin laughed. "Don't beat yourself up, you are doing fine. I mean, you found this nice purple one." Merlin lifted up the beautiful purple flower that Gwaine had found hidden under a pile of weeds.

The knight pinched his chin as if in great thought. "I suppose you are right." He smiled as he ran over to another bush. This one sporting a bright pink flower. "This one looks nice." Gwaine picked the flower and added it to the pile growing on top of the picnic basket.

"Yes it does look nice. I'm sure Gwen will love it. Right, well I think we have collected enough flowers for one day. Thank you so much for helping me. You are truly a great friend." Merlin thanked the knight with a warm smile. The two men started to head back into the citadel.

"You are welcome. Listen Merlin, I've been thinking and if you agree I would like to teach you archery and how to wield a sword. Just in case you need to use one to protect yourself when out with Arthur. This way if you ever need to you will know how to defend yourself."

Merlin spun around to face the knight, eyes shining bright. "You would really teach me?"

"Of course, you need to protect yourself as much as you do the king." Gwaine said.

Before Gwaine could finish the sentence he had arms full of blubbering servant. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" All of a sudden Merlin pulled away from Gwaine and looked to the ground. "But don't you have all your knightly duties to uphold?"

"Well of course I do, but I do get time off and during those times I will teach you. I think you will take to archery the best."

"You are good friend Gwaine. I know I have said it a lot today, but I really do mean it." The young wizard said to the knight.

"No worries Merlin. What are friends for?" they shared a smile and continued to head for Camelot talking about anything and everything.

Arthur was getting ready for his picnic with Gwen when he headed over to the window to check on the weather. As he opened the window he heard laughter. Recognising the laughter he looked down to see Merlin and Gwaine in the square laughing presumably over a joke the knight had said. Gwaine had his hands resting on Merlins shoulders as he laughed. Arthur saw red. _'What are they laughing about? What could be so funny?' _Arthur paused in his mind rant. _'He looks so happy with Gwaine. I have never seen him act that happy around me. What are you talking about Arthur of course you haven't; you treat him like a slave. Why do I even care about this? It's not like I have feelings for Merlin. I love Gwen, forever and always. But I've never seen Merlin laugh like that in a long time. I wonder what has changed between them.' _Arthur was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." He called out, turning his head away from the laughing men to look at the door.

The door opened and Gwen stepped into the room, looking brilliant as always. "Arthur, are you ready to head out for our picnic? It is just after noon."

"Yes I was just finishing getting ready." Arthur turned back to look at the window but Merlin and Gwaine had gone.

"What are you looking at?" Gwen had come up behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing. I just saw Merlin and Gwaine having a laugh in the courtyard." Arthur said.

"That's nice. It's good to see Merlin smiling and having a good time. It has been long since I have seen a true smile on his face. Perhaps they are starting to like one another in a romantic way?" Gwen had a mischievous smile on her face.

"What! What are you talking about Gwen? Like Gwaine and Merlin would really become involved with one another. Gwaine is a knight and Merlin is a servant. They are totally different people." He snapped.

"What about us? You were a prince and I a servant when we fell in love. Love can blossom anywhere, we were proof enough. If they are happy then we should not stop them." Gwen said with fire in her eyes.

The king sighed. "Okay, okay I get it. I just find it hard to believe is all. I didn't mean what I said. So are you ready for our little romantic getaway?" Arthur pulled Gwen into his arm kissing her on the lips. They pulled apart when they heard knocking on door. "Enter." The door opened and in stepped Merlin carrying the picnic basket and the bouquet of flowers. "Ah Merlin. How unusual of you to be on time."

"Yes, well your job does go faster when you are being helped. Everything is ready for you picnic Sire." Merlin said as he placed the basket on the table. "I was wondering sire if you really needed me to come along with you? You see Gwaine was going to teach me a bit about archery while he was free." The wizard looked pleadingly at the king.

"I'm sorry but yes you will. Perhaps Gwaine can teach you another time." The king lifted up his nose. _'Note to self. Keep Gwaine occupied. Cannot have Gwaine hurting Merlin in the long run.'_

"No we don't Arthur. We will be perfectly fine on our own. It will be more romantic that way." Gwen said.

"But-"Arthur tried to give a reason why that was a bad idea, but he stopped mid-sentence when his fiancé levelled a glare at him. "Right, we will be fine on our own. You may go."

"Thank you, sire." Merlin smiled and walked out of the room.

Arthur glared at the retreating man's back. Gwen turned to Arthur and smiled. "There, that wasn't so hard now was it? It will do you some good to not have Merlin always at your beck and call, besides I'm sure we can do a lot more with our alone time than if he was there." Gwen kissed Arthur and headed out the door missing the glare he threw out the open window.

A.N. I hope you enjoyed another chapter! Sorry for so long in between posts I was away for a week and did not have internet access where I was staying. Didn't think I would be gone for so long. Same with all chapters read and review please


	6. Chapter 6

A pool and secrets

Chapter Six

_Arthur was travelling down a dark path when he heard a moan come from up ahead. He was confused, he thought he was alone on this journey. Determined he picked up his pace trying to find the source of the sound he heard. After a few more steps he heard the moaning sound again, only this time it sounded like somebody had moaned his name. Determined now he picked up his pace; almost running to see who could be making such noise. He stopped; he had come to a fork in the road. Noises came from both directions. One the moaning he had heard the whole time he had travelled down the dark path and the other noise was the faint cry of a baby. He decided to go down the path that led to the moaning as that sound had plagued him the whole time he had been walking down the path. As he travelled down the path the moaning was getting louder and he was positive that every now and then the person would moan his name. Arthur came to a bend in the path and as he came around the bend he saw himself and another person in the throes of passion. It was dark so he could not make out who he was making love to; although he could tell that the person had black hair. "Oh Arthur. Harder." Arthur moved closer to the couple. As Arthur moved closer he could make out the pale legs of the person he was bedding. 'Ah Arthur! Arthur!'_

"Arthur!" The king bolted awake sitting up in bed. As he was bolting up he hit his head against something hard.

"Ow!" He looked over and spotted Merlin holding his hand against his forehead with his eyes closed. "What are you doing?!" He yelled.

"Well it's pretty obvious that I was waking you up." Scoffed Merlin. "You have a meeting in half an hour with the knights. I have prepared your breakfast, it is on the table. Is there anything else that you need doing, Sire?" Merlin said as he headed for the door.

Arthur stood up from the bed and watched his servant leave. "You are well prepared today Merlin. Are you sick?" he asked.

Merlin paused and rolled his eyes at the king. "No I am not sick. I was awake early this morning is all."

The king stared at the young wizard, trying to see deep within his eyes. "You seem different lately Merlin. Are you sure that there is nothing wrong? It has been ever since we got back from the horrible trip to emerald two weeks ago."

"I'm fine." Merlin said. "Why? Are you worried about me?"

"No. I'm merely worried that I will have to replace a servant soon if it is serious." Arthur said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Now, while I am in the meeting with the knights I want you to make sure that my armour is polished by the time I am finished, just in case I have to leave somewhere." Arthur walked over to the table and started to eat his breakfast.

"But I usually attend the meeting with you." Merlin said as he walked over to Arthur's bed to make it.

"Yes, well I want you to polish my armour. It's not like you have any input in the meeting. This way you are being useful instead of distracting one of the knights. Again." Arthur said as he pointed his spoon at his servant.

"What are you talking about? Since when have I distracted one of your knights?" Merlin asked.

"Just last week, at the last meeting, both you and Gwaine were late to the meeting. What were you doing anyway for you to both be late?"

"Gwaine was teaching me how to use a bow and arrow, and we lost track of time. He said that I should know how to defend myself with a weapon in case the need should ever arise."

"Really? You? Use a bow and arrow? Why didn't you ask me to teach you? I could have done it." Arthur said perturbed. He stood from the table and went over to the divider to change out of his night clothes.

"I honestly have never thought of it before, but Gwaine asked me if I wanted to and I realised that it is a good idea. I never know when I might need to put the knowledge into practise. Besides I think I'm getting quite good at it; well Gwaine said I am." Merlin said with a proud smile.

"You good at shooting an arrow? That I would pay to see." Arthur laughed missing the smile fade off Merlins face.

"Well maybe you should!" Yelled Merlin. "Sorry I should not have yelled. Is there anything that you wish me to do, my lord?" Merlin asked.

Arthur came around the partition and stared at his servant. "No that is all." Merlin bowed and left the room not looking at his king. _'I've never heard him yell at me like that before; maybe I went too far. I wish I had thought of teaching him. Gwaine is right Merlin should have some knowledge of using a weapon. Why was he so happy talking about spending time with Gwaine. Maybe Gwen was right? Why do I care? Because I think of Merlin as a friend and I don't want him getting hurt. I mean Gwaine is a known womaniser. I hope he doesn't get hurt.' _Arthur left his bedroom to attend the meeting with the knights.

"The westfold tower has reported that a group of men are raiding villages in Ellador, my lord. They do not have enough men to set an ambush and are asking for help." Said Leon to the king.

"I see. Ellador is close to Emerald territory. Do they know if it is Alar and his group of men?" Arthur asked deep in thought.

"They do not say my lord. Only that it is a group of men who go raiding the villages. They seem to be keeping to a schedule that's why they wish to set an ambush." Leon said looking at the letter received.

"Hmm, okay we will head out just after noon. I would like to take a large group of men just in case they have underestimated the size of the group of men. Leon you should stay here and make sure that Camelot is looked after while I am gone." Arthur said looking at the map before him. "We should take the path of Aloch it will be the fastest route. The faster we get there the more time we have to prepare the ambush. The journey there should take no longer than a day but we should stop during the night to rest." Arthur said.

"Of course my lord." Bowed Leon. The other knights bowed their heads. Everybody stood and started to make their way to the exit to prepare for the journey.

It was just after noon and Merlin was in the stables, he had just finished getting his and Arthur's horses ready to leave for Ellador. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and he turned to look at who had done so. Merlin smiled as his eyes landed on the smiling face of his best friend. "Hello Gwaine. Are you ready to go to?" He asked.

"Yes I am. There is something that I wish to give you before we leave." Gwaine said sounding anxious.

"Oh, okay. What is it?" he asked hoping his friend was okay.

"Close your eyes. It's a surprise." Gwaine intrusted Merlin.

Smiling Merlin closed his eyes. He heard Gwaine's footsteps as he turned and left from where he had come from. Thirty seconds later He heard Gwaine walk back. "Okay you can open your eyes now." Merlin blinked his eyes open, only for them to bulge wide open when his eyes fell onto the present in Gwaine's hands. In one hand he held a bow and in the other a quiver of arrows. "You have done so well at our training over the last two weeks that I wanted to get you a present. I hope you like them." He was surprised when he suddenly had an excited Merlin holding him in a hug of death. "I take it you like them then?" He laughed.

"Like? I love them! But you did not have to get me a bow and arrow set Gwaine. This must have cost a fair bit." He said cautiously reaching out his hand to hold the bow."

"Nonsense. The maker is a friend of mine and he gave me a discount. Here why don't you take it and have a hold." He held out his hand holding the bow.

All of a sudden there was kissing noises and laughter coming from the door to the stable. Both men turned their heads to see Percival and Elyan laughing from the entrance to the stables. Gwaine glared at the two men. "Stop it." He said.

The two men raised their hands in mock surrender. "Settle down Gwaine. We meant nothing by it. We know you and Merlin are just friends." Said Percival. "Come on you two. The king wishes to leave." Both men turned and left the stable.

Merlin placed the quiver of arrows over his shoulder, followed by the bow. "Thank you so much Gwaine. You don't know how much this means to me. It's perfect." Merlin said smiling brighter than he had in a long, long time. Merlin grabbed his and Arthur's horse and headed out the stable to meet the king. He missed the glare that Arthur threw at his new present and the knight who had given it to him.

The group of men had travelled all day and were currently getting set up to rest for the night. Merlin was trying to light a fire with two stones but was having no luck. He looked around to see if anybody was looking. Once seeing that everybody was busy doing something and would not see him, he decided to use his magic. With a flash of his eyes the fire was lit. But something had felt weird when he used his magic. Like his magic was being pulled somewhere else. _'I wonder what that feeling could be. I have never felt it before. I hope I am not losing my magic. It is my fate to protect Arthur and I can't do that without magic. I will need to ask Gaius what it could been when we get back to Camelot.'_

Merlin was startled when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Are you alright Merlin?" Asked Percival.

"I'm fine. I was just deep in thought is all. Nothing to worry about." He smiled at Percival and turned to get food ready for everybody.

A.N. Hope you enjoyed another chapter. I am receiving lovely reviews from people and it keeps me posting. Thank you. Anyway read and review.


	7. Chapter 7

A pool and secrets

Chapter Seven

Arthur glared at Merlin and Gwaine as they got ready to depart for westfold tower. The young wizard was smiling and laughing at something the knight was saying to him. He looked away as Percival started to approach him. "We will be ready to leave shortly, my lord." Stated Percival.

The king looked up at the knight and smiled. "Right." Arthur stood and stretched sneaking another look at the pair of men smiling before him. "Okay men, we should get going. We should be at the westfold tower before midday. Gwaine you should patrol up front, Percival you should watch the back and the others should branch around keeping eyes and ears alert. I don't want us to be ambushed again." The men nodded and got into position.

The group had arrived at the westfold tower just before midday and were greeted by the person in charge of the tower. Arthur hopped down from his horse and walked over to the man who came forward to greet the king. He was a tall man with dark chocolate eyes and long brown hair. He had a small beard and look as though he had much experience as a knight. The dark haired man in charge leaned forward and shook hands with the king. "It is a pleasure that you would come to help us, your highness." The man bowed down to the king. "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. My name is Gaelin and this is Blamir, he is my second in charge, if for any reason you cannot find me he is who you should look for next." Blamir was also tall but he had short blonde hair and looked no older than twenty five years old. He was staring behind Arthur and when Arthur turned around he saw that Merlin was standing just behind the king.

Arthur cleared his throat and the man's attention focused back on the king and he reached over to also shake the hand of the king bowing his head. "Your highness." He said.

"Well it is a pleasure to be here. You sounded like you needed a lot of help in your letter and I am always ready to help my people. We should head in side and you can give us all the details." Arthur stated.

"Of course my king." Bowed Gaelin. "If you tie your horses up to those posts somebody will be by to take care of them."

"Alright. Merlin I want you stay here and help with the horses." Arthur turned around to the knights behind him and beckoned them inside. Everybody started to head inside leaving Merlin behind.

Merlin sighed, turning towards the horses and started to tie them to the posts. "Of course I'm left here to do everything on my own again. One day I'll have a day to myself, no chores just freedom to do whatever I want."

"They are set to attack Tallock tomorrow. It's a small village only about two hours from here. They usually attack mid-afternoon and stay for no longer than an hour. They get the villagers to pile belongings, meat and vegetation on a kart that they have. Tallock is a small village with only one entry and exit available using a kart. I figure that we could leave in the morning and set an ambush for when they attack the village. We could have men lying in wait in the two houses that are next to the exit and block it off with a signal. That way they are blocked in and the kart cannot get anywhere. The groups usually consist of twenty men, that is why I asked for your help. We have only nine men here and we would be outnumbered if we tried to handle this on our own." Gaelin explained.

Arthur was looking at the map in front of him and taking in all that Gaelin was telling him. "Okay, that sounds like a good plan. Cut them off, trap them in and take them down. I agree that we should leave in the morning so that we can see the village for our self and place people where they won't be noticed before it is time to attack. You were right to send for us Gaelin. I was wondering if the leader of this group of men is known by the name Alar. We ran into Alar and his followers about two weeks ago on our way back from Emerald. He ambushed us and tried to kill us."

"Well, all but one of us. He wanted to keep Merlin for another reason." Gwaine said.

"What do you mean another reason?" asked Blamir intrigued.

"It's nothing really just he thought Merlin was pretty and once we were dead he said that he was going to take Merlin and bed him. Like I or the knights would have let that happen though." Arthur stated.

"Well I can understand his desire. He is beautiful" said Blamir.

Arthur stared at Blamir before laughing. "You must be blind. Merlin may have decent looks but I wouldn't go so far to say beautiful." He focused back on the map of the villages surrounding the westfold tower. _'Liar. You also think Merlin is attractive and you have noticed that a lot more lately. The way he smiles I just can't help staring at him sometimes. No stop it! You love Gwen!'_

"No I would say that you are the one who is blind to not see his worth. Even if I have just met him, there is something about him that screams he is special, one of a kind." Stated Blamir.

"That may be so. We have gotten off track; we need to focus on this plan. I agree with everything you have said Gaelin. We will leave tomorrow and set up a final plan when we get there. That being said I think we should rest to make sure that we are ready by tomorrow." Arthur said looking everybody in eye.

"We have rooms set up for you and your men my highness. I Hope that they will be to your liking." Gaelin smiled at the king.

"I'm sure they will be fine. Thank you. Lead the way." Arthur said extending his hand to the door.

Arthur, Merlin and the knights all arrived at Tallock early the next morning and were greeted by most of the people in the village. An elderly man came towards Arthur and his party. "Greetings your highness, why have you visited our small village on this fine day?" he asked.

Arthur hopped down from his horse and placed his hands on the old man's shoulder. "We have come to help you. I hope that we can count on you and the people of the village to help."

The elderly man looked sceptically up at Arthur. "You wish us to help you fight these men?" he asked.

"Of course not. We only wish to hide within your houses and ambush them when they come and attack your village. When we attack, you and the others need to get out of the way. Hopefully we will have enough time to set up places where you can hide until it has finished.

The old man smiled at his king. "Thank you so much. You are a great man to come and help us. Please, do all you must to capture these men. We will forever be in your debt, my lord." The old man tried to bow to Arthur nearly falling over in the process. If it wasn't for Arthur's quick reflexes, catching the old man he would have fallen straight to the ground.

"Easy there. Do not hurt yourself and as king it is my duty to look after my people. These men need to pay for hurting so many of you." Arthur said with a fire in his eyes.

Merlin watched Arthur as he spoke with the elderly man; his eyes and heart filling up with so much love he was sure he would burst. '_This is the man I fell in love with. Such passion he shows for his people makes me understand why I stay by his side, even if it wasn't my destiny to do so. I hope that he never changes from the man I see before me.'_

Everybody was in position waiting for the men to arrive. Percival and Gwaine were in the houses on either side of the only way in or out of the village. Everybody else is spread throughout the houses in position waiting for the signal. Merlin was positioned on the top run of one of the barns. He was up there because Gwaine thought he could be a help with his bow and arrow. All of a sudden there was the sound of horses in the distance. Merlin could see through a crack and he spied the group of men as they stoped in front of the elderly man from this morning.

"It's time, old man. Alright all you peasants start loading up the kart so we can be on our way." The obvious leader of the attackers spoke harshly.

"Please we do not have enough to feed you and ourselves." The old man begged.

"Well you will have to starve then; I said load up the kart!" The man marched over to the elderly fellow and slapped him across the face. "Now hurry up, we don't have all day!"

Arthur in disguise went over to the old man and helped him off the ground. A horn sounded signalling the attack. Gwaine and Percival left the houses and pushed loaded karts in front of the exit blocking the men on the kart in. All the knights came out of the houses and started to fight the men. Merlin opened up the small window on the front of the barn keeping an eye on Arthur. The king was doing great in the battle and was defeating men in no time at all. Merlin noticed that a man was starting to creep up on Arthur and he tried to use his magic to make the man go flying away from him. All that happened was it looked like man was pushed on the shoulder so acting quickly Merlin notched an arrow and fired at the man, hitting him in the chest. Arthur turned around and noticed the man fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his chest. The attack continued until they had captured half of the men; the other half either died or fled during the ambush.

Merlin raced down to meet up with Arthur. Once he reached the king he smiled. "You did well today Merlin. Thank you for having my back. You truly do have some skill with the bow and arrow." Arthur said. Merlin just stood there staring at Arthur in shock. Arthur turned to all the men, "alright let's start getting everything in order so that we can leave in the morning." Arthur turned to the old man, "is it alright if we stay the night?"

"Of course your highness, stay as long as you like."

"That is very kind of you, but we must be getting back to Camelot quickly. I have a kingdom to run and of course a lovely fiancée to get back home to."

Merlin and Gwaine stood outside the house they were staying in talking and looking up at the stars. Gwaine turned to Merlin, "you did great today Merlin. I dont think there is much more that I need to teach you now." Gwaine said with a smile.

Merlin turned to Gwaine a wide smile on his face. "It is all thanks to you that I can shoot so well Gwaine. I don't know how I am ever going to repay you. You are a great best friend." The two men looked into each other's eyes, when all of a sudden Gwaine grabbed Merlin's shoulders, pulling the wizard towards him and kissed him.

A.N Here is another chapter of A pool and secrets. Hope you enjoyed reading. Sorry if it is not that good, I am typing this with bleary sleepy eyes. Read and review


	8. Chapter 8

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Eight**

Merlin stood there shocked for a few seconds before he realised what was happening and pushed the knight away. "What are you doing Gwaine? How could you kiss me?!" Merlin asked aghast.

"I'm sorry Merlin. I don't know what came over me. You just look so beautiful when you smile and I just had to kiss you." Gwaine said moving closer to Merlin. "I know that you don't feel the same about me and that you deeply love the king, but he never sees you for who you are Merlin. I can give you a happy life if you would just let me." Gwaine reached up placing his hands on Merlin's shoulders staring into his eyes pleadingly.

Merlin sighed and turned his gaze to stare at the paddock containing the horses not so far away. "I'm sorry Gwaine. Even if I can't be with him I will stay by his side and love him forever. My feelings will never change even if something did start between us. I see you as a great and true friend, and I do not wish to lose you as such. Please do not make me have to choose between my love for Arthur and our friendship." Merlin pleaded. His shoulder had begun to shake and he buried his face in his hands, hiding his silent tears.

Gwaine felt his heart break in two, after causing his friend to break down. "I would never make you do something like that Merlin. If you cannot be with me, then it would be an honour to still be your best friend." Gwaine pulled Merlins hands away from his face and wiped away the tears. "I mean it Merlin. I care for you to much to make you sad and I do not wish to see you hurting because of me. Please will you forgive me?"

Merlin smiled with puffy eyes. "There is nothing to forgive Gwaine. I know how it feels to have feelings for someone who can't love you back. I just hope that this doesn't change anything between us. I hope you can forgive me."

Gwaine still holding Merlins hands grips them tighter. He pulls Merlin in for a hug. "It's okay. Nothing will change. We will still be best friends forever and if the king ever hurts you, I just might contemplate treason." He smiles when he sees Merlin laugh. He pushes Merlin away and winks at the man before him. "Okay, enough forgiving, tears and feelings. Let's get inside and you can get some rest. We have to take the prisoners tomorrow and I am on first watch."

The two men turned and headed to the small house that one of the villagers had given up for the night. Arthur looked up from his sitting position when the two men entered the house. The king noticed Merlin's puffy eyes and stood up pointing a finger at Gwaine. "What did you do to Merlin? Why has he been crying?" He glared at the knight.

"It was nothing Arthur. There was a gust of wind and some dirt flew into my eyes and I had to wash them with water and they got all puffy that is all" Merlin said to the irate king.

Arthur glared at Gwaine not believing Merlin for second, but he stepped away and put his arm down anyway. "If you say so Merlin." He threw one last glare at Gwaine before he went and sat where he was sitting before the men had come in. "You had better go and start your watch Gwaine and you should get some sleep Merlin."

"Yes, my lord." Gwaine bowed before leaving out the door he had not long ago entered. Merlin spared Arthur a confused look before went over to where he was sleeping and lay down for the night.

Arthur and his party had left early the next morning and arrived back at the westfold tower just before midday. It had taken longer this trip than the last one as they had to go slow for the prisoners they were transporting. After the men had been placed in the cells Arthur and Gaelin went down to interrogate the men. Arthur wanted to know if these men could work for Alar. Merlin pursed his lips in thought; he was standing in front of his horses stall petting her neck. He had not had a chance to talk with Gwaine yet because for some reason Arthur was keeping him very busy with all sorts of assignments. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice somebody come up behind him.

"She is a beauty. Just like her owner." Said the person behind him. Merlin gasped and spun around coming face to face with Blamir, Gaelin's second in charge. The man put his hands up in a soothing gesture with a laugh on his voice. "Sorry I did not mean to scare you."

Merlin shook his head he was feeling a bit dizzy. "No it's fine. Gwaine says that I scare easy." Merlin said with a shy smile.

"As I was saying before I frightened you, your horse is beautiful but I believe you are even more so." Blamir moved in closer to the man before him.

Merlin blushed; averting his eyes from the man before him. "She is not mine. She belongs to Arthur and I am not beautiful but thank you for trying to make me feel nice." Merlin took a step back as Blamir tried to step closer to him again.

"Oh I speak the truth; you are quite beautiful. Would you like to come to the tavern with me and have a drink? I can show you a good time." Blamir said trying to be seductive while also trying to invade Merlin's personal space again. Merlin felt sick all of a sudden; he was sure that his face turned a horrible shade of green. "Are you okay? You look a bit green." Blamir asked. He stepped back to give Merlin some room. "Should I take you to go see our healer?" he asked worried for the young man who was now bent over taking in huge lungful's of air.

Merlin was trying to desperately keep his meal in his stomach but it was a losing battle. He rushed over to a nearby bucket and lost his breakfast. He did not stop vomiting until he had lost everything that was in his stomach. Merlin sat in front of the bucket dry heaving for what felt like ages. When he felt his stomach settle down he noticed he had a nervous panicked man sitting beside him rubbing his back. "Sorry you had to see that."

"No worries. Do you wish me to get somebody for you? The healer? Gwaine? Perhaps the king?" Blamir asked nervously.

"No I will be fine, probably just a stomach flu, it will pass." Merlin said turning to look at the man beside him. "I am going to wash this bucket out and get a drink of water so I don't think we will be able to have a drink together anyway. Sorry." Merlin stood up on shaky legs. He nearly fell back down but Blamir held him steady. Once Merlin felt that he was not going to fall over he picked up the bucket and headed to the well to clean up the mess.

They left the westfold tower the next morning and made it home the next day. Arthur did not seem to be in a good mood and was still trying to keep Gwaine busy. He was disappointed that the men they had captured were not a part of Alar's group of men. They were just trying to survive by stealing from other people because they were outcasts from their own villages.

Merlin was nervous the whole journey home; he was not sure what was wrong with him. He kept on trying to use his magic when no one was around and the pulling feeling was still there. Sometimes it affected his magic in the fact that his magic worked slower now than it used to. Also when they stopped to rest the night before he threw up again after eating dinner and again this morning. He has not eaten since the night before because he tried to eat this morning after he was sick but he still felt nauseous. Merlin did not see how these symptoms could have anything in common but he would ask Gaius when he had the time when at dinner after all his chores for Arthur.

When merlin was getting dinner ready for Arthur and Gwen he had to hold his breath when dishing out the meat. He was just about to be sick again but he put the plate down and walked away for a second taking deep breaths. This is how Gwaine found the servant; he looked at Merlin in worry. "Are you okay Merlin? You don't look so good."

"Gwaine! I'm fine. I think I may have caught a stomach flu when we were away. But I will get a potion from Gaius when I retire later. Do not worry. I am sorry we did not have enough time to talk. Arthur seems to have lots of jobs for you lately. So why are you here?" Merlin glances at the plates with meat on them and casually starts pilling up the plates with vegetables; pretending he cannot see or smell the meat.

"I was just coming to have quiet chat with you, since I finally have some free time. I think Arthur didn't believe you the night at Tallock when you were crying. I think he has been punishing me for hurting you." Gwaine said as Merlin lifted up the plates and headed for the door.

Merlin paused at the door waiting for Gwaine to open the door. "Don't be silly Gwaine. Arthur would not punish you for hurting my feelings. He would probably have a laugh with you about it." Merlin scoffed.

"You really don't notice the way he acts around you sometimes do you?" Gwaine asked.

"Yeah like a servant and sometimes a confidant but only because he needs somebody to listen to his problems, which he has Gwen for now." They have reached the king and Queens dining room and Merlin paused outside the door. "I have to go now. We can catch up tomorrow if you are free."

"Sure Merlin. If the king hasn't got me working all day tomorrow." Gwaine laughs and heads down the corridor to his quarters.

Merlin enters Gaius' and his quarters utterly exhausted from the day; even if he had been doing his usual chores as a servant. Gaius is just finishing making dinner when he enters and slumps down on the table. "Seriously Merlin would you not slouch all over the table we have to eat on that you know." The old man admonishes Merlin. When he did not receive a reply he turns to the young man to see him snoozing away. He sighs and dishes up a plate for the young man. "Merlin eat you dinner before it spoils." Gaius said as he shakes Merlin shoulder trying to rouse him.

Gaius placed Merlins bowl in front of him when he sat up to eat. Merlin takes one sniff of dinner and is running to the nearest free pot and vomiting. "Are you alright merlin?" asked Gaius. The old wizard walked over to merlin and felt his forehead. "You feel clammy. You should get to bed and I will get a potion for you to ease you after vomiting so much." Gaius said handing a cup of water to Merlin.

Merlin rinsed out his mouth with a sip of water from the cup Gaius handed to him. He sat up and looked at the man. "There is something I need you to find out for me Gaius."

"Of course Merlin what is it?" Gaius asked concerned.

"When I have tried to use my magic I have felt a pull on it. I can still use it most of the time but it just takes longer for my magic to be effective. I have been sick the last two days as I was tonight, I have had a few dizzy spells and I am feeling more fatigued than usual. You do not think something or someone is trying to steal my magic do you?" Merlin looked at Gaius with worry.

"Nothing comes to mind but I will have a look at my texts tonight while you sleep." Gaius stood and walked over to his bench that help all his potions. Here take this and go get some sleep.

Merlin swallowed the potion and headed to bed as Gaius finished up his dinner before trying to find out what was wrong with Merlin.

Merlin woke up the next morning feeling a bit bitter than when he had gone to sleep. He rose from his bed and got ready for the day. When he left his room he found Gaius asleep, his face buried in one of his books. Merlin felt sorry that he made Gaius research this for him while he went to sleep. The young wizard shook the old man's shoulder waking him up. Gaius stretched all his aching muscles before he looked up at Merlin; noting Merlin seemed to look a bit better this morning. The old wizard started to scramble around until he came across a potion vial. "Here drink this." Merlin looked at the old man in trepidation. "Hurry up. It is not going to kill you." Merlin sighed and drank the foul tasting potion. When nothing happened he looked at Gaius confused. "Good, that means that nobody or nothing is currently trying to steal your magic. Bad news is that other than you being pregnant I have no other answers. But you can't be pregnant right? Or have you slept with another man recently?"

"Men can't get pregnant Gaius! Are you crazy?!" Merlin screamed losing the colour in his face.

"Men cannot but powerful wizards can Merlin. They were highly respected and treasured in the old days when magic was free." Merlin put a hand over his mouth and rushed to the same pot as the night before. Once he had finished vomiting he rinsed his mouth out and turned towards the old wizard. "Could you be pregnant Merlin?" asked Gaius suspiciously.

"Of course not Gaius, when would I get the time to sleep with anybody let alone a man? I have to go before Arthur sends me to the stocks for being late." Merlin rushed out the door before Gaius could ask him anything else.

A.N. Well here is another chapter of 'A pool and secrets'. Sorry if people don't like the sappy Merlin and if it isn't as good as I usually wright. Hope you enjoyed it otherwise.


	9. Chapter 9

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Nine**

'_What am I going to do? I can't be pregnant. It was only one time and I'm not that powerful. But what if I am? I can't stay in Camelot Arthur will know about my magic and he will kill me. But it is my destiny to protect him. How can I protect him if I'm away somewhere carrying his child?" _Merlin was thinking to himself as started to wring his hands in worry. _'Whatever should I do?'_

"Merlin." He did not hear the voice trying to get his attention. Merlin was still in shock from this morning when Gaius dropped the news that he may be pregnant. "Merlin!" Someone yelled making Merlin jump out of his skin.

"Wah?" Merlin's thoughts focused again and noticed that the king was scowling at him.

"As eloquent as usual Merlin. Seriously what is wrong with you? This is the fifth time this morning that I have had to get your attention because you're off with the fairies! I know with your small brain you find it hard to focus; but pay attention will you? Now can you pass me that scroll over there on my dresser?" Arthur watched as Merlin walked over to the dresser to collect the scroll the king had asked for. He frowned when he noticed Merlin looked a little more pale than usual. "What is wrong anyway? Why do you keep on spacing out?" The king asked in concealed concern.

Merlin paused on his way back to the king, not saying anything before shrugging his shoulders. "Nothing. Just thinking."

Arthur stared at his servant. "What about?"

"Sorry?" Merlin asked pretending he did not hear the question asked by Arthur.

"What has you thinking so hard?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing serious. I'll try to keep my mind focused. Sorry, my lord, for the inconvenience." Merlin said. Arthur stood from the table he sat before and walked over to where Merlin stood. He was a hair length away from the wizard and Merlin could feel his breath on his face. They stood staring at each other for what felt like eternity. Arthur started to move his head closer to Merlin when they were pulled out of their tranced state by a knock on the door. Both men turned their heads away from the other with deep scarlet blushes on their faces.

Arthur pulled away from Merlin and stood facing the door, he cleared his throat before calling for the person at the door to enter. When Gwen entered the room she noticed that both men had a deep blush and Merlin was trying very hard to keep his eyes diverted from the king. "Have I missed something?" she asked.

"What?" asked Arthur. He looked at Gwen trying to mask confusion.

"Have I missed something, you both look odd." Gwen stated. She was looking back and forwards between the two men. Merlin had placed the scroll on the table and was currently cleaning the table of Arthur's breakfast. He could feel Gwen's glance travel to him every now and then. All of a sudden it hits him that he was about to kiss Arthur. Again. The king. Gwen's future husband. He felt sick. "Are you alright Merlin?" asked Gwen noticing that the wizard had started to turn a horrid shade of green.

Merlin turned to face Gwen, noticing that her question had also drawn the king's attention to his servant. "I'm fine, just a bit under the weather. I have caught the flu is all. If you both will excuse me I have some other chores that I must attend to." Merlin gave a small bow to Gwen and Arthur before turning to leave the room. Before he could leave Arthur spoke to him.

"After you have disposed of breakfast you may take the rest of the morning off. But I want you to be present during the meeting later today." He said.

"You are being serious Arthur? I can actually take the morning off?" Merlin asked shocked.

"Yes. Now leave before I change my mind and come up with some horrible tasks for you to do." Arthur shooed Merlin away.

"Thank you so much Arthur." Merlin said with a huge smile lighting up his face; causing Arthur's heart to skip a beat. Merlin raced out of Arthur's room, forgetting his sorrows if but for a little while.

"You big softy you." Gwen smirked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about I merely do not wish to get sick." Arthur said haughtily; pretending not to care.

Merlin rushed into his and Gaius' quarters, hoping the old healer was not at home. Once he had checked everywhere that Gaius was not there Merlin rushed over to where the old man hides his magic books. He searched through the books until he came upon the page he was looking for. Once found, he rushed to his room and made sure that all his windows were shut. The last thing he needed was for the spell to go wrong and somebody to see some magic. He started to read through the passage.

"Right so as Gaius was saying, male wizards could get pregnant if they were powerful enough. The pregnant wizards used to be held in high esteem and were widely sought. Multiple births were not so common but were widely celebrated if ever pregnancy resulted in more than one child. Many kings or evil wizards would search widely for these wizards as they often produced the most strong and powerful of offspring. Pregnant wizards usually start to feel a pull on their magic within two to three weeks of conception due to the child needing the host' parents' magic to survive in the body. Usual pregnancy symptoms can start to manifest at the same time; such as nausea, vomiting or dizziness. Wizards should refrain from using large amounts of magic during pregnancy just to be safe. Pregnancy duration is nine months and the wizards can breastfeed after birth because the wizard's magic helps with milk production. That would have to be so weird."

Merlin kept on reading until he came upon the spell to determine if he was pregnant. "Ok, so say this spell in the book and if I am pregnant my belly will shine gold, if not my belly will shine a red colour. Right, so there is nothing to it." Merlin paused he was staring down at his stomach. _'C'mon Merlin, it's as easy as saying a little spell, your stomach turns red and you never have to worry about this again because the man you love is marrying someone else. Right. But what if I am pregnant than I will have to worry about what I am going to do. Plus I will be PREGNANT!'_ Merlin sighed before he finally got up the courage. The young wizard closed his eyes before reciting the spell. When Merlin felt the magic swirling around his abdomen he peeked an eye open to have a look at the colour. "Fate hates me." He groaned falling back on his bed. Merlin heard a noise downstairs and hid the book before heading out to see who was downstairs.

"Hi Gwaine, what are you doing here?" Merlin asked when he spotted the knight standing just inside of the door carrying a basket.

"I know you aren't feeling well so I brought some chicken broth hoping we could eat outside before we have to attend the meeting." The knight said holding up the basket he had packed everything into.

"Sure; that sounds nice." Merlin smiled before leaving with Gwaine.

Merlin sat behind Arthur, Gwen and the knights sitting around the round table, half listening to the reports being spoken by said knights. He was still reeling from the result of the spell he had gotten earlier when he heard a familiar name being spoken of.

"There have been reports of Morgana being sighted just off of the southern borders. She has been recruiting soldiers and if rumours are true attacking druids. Tells them to side with her or she will kill them." Spoke Percival.

"That is terrible." Said Gwen. "How can she be doing that to her own people?"

"My sister has obviously fallen to the powers of her magic and it has corrupted her soul. All she craves is more power and she doesn't care who she hurts to get it." Said Arthur with a pained face. He sighed before he turned to Leon, "Have there been any sightings of Alar yet? He asked.

"Not from the west my lord, but Percival has heard rumours that he has been trading with Morgana." Leon said.

"What would Morgana have to offer Alar? Perhaps my death? They both would rejoice at that outcome." Arthur sighed. "We must stop them before they can destroy Camelot and the people in it. Percival I want you to keep an eye and ear out for any more information on Morgana and Alar. Alright does anybody have any other news to report?" When everybody shook their heads Arthur ended the meeting and everybody started to leave. Arthur turned around to his servant as he stood up from the table. "I have arranged for Gwen's serving maid to attend to our dinner tonight so you can have the rest of the day off. I am not being nice, before you start to say anything, I just do not wish to catch anything. A king has to be in fit and healthy shape" Arthur said puffing out his chest. He glared at Merlin when the wizard was quietly laughing behind his hand. "Do you want me to change my mind?" Merlin shook his head and made his way over to the door.

When Merlin arrived home he noticed Gaius sitting at his table reading a book. The old man looked up at the young as he entered and put his book down on the table. They stared at each other for a long time before Merlin sighed. "We need to talk Gaius." Merlin said.

"Yes we do. Sit." Gaius said pointing to the chair on the other side of the table. Merlin hesitated for a second before complying with the old man's wishes. Gaius opened his mouth to speak but Merlin beat him to it.

"I lied this morning. I have slept with another man. It was Arthur. It happened two weeks ago when we got ambushed by Alar and we were in that cave for the night. It just happened. I noticed that he was getting flushed so I woke him up and next thing I know he is sniffing me saying I smell nice and kissing my neck. And then one thing led to another and we slept together. I tried to resist. Really I did! But I couldn't! He did not remember what happened the next day so I tried to forget it as well but I performed the spell and I'm pregnant Gaius. Pregnant!" Merlin almost shouted at the end; getting more distressed as he talked.

"Calm down Merlin. Stressing is not good for somebody in your condition." Gaius said. Merlin groaned resting his head on the table. "I just can't believe that the father of your child is Arthur. I thought maybe Gwaine since you seem to be spending so much time together lately. What do you plan to do about this Merlin?" Gaius asked concerned. Merlin sighed.

"I have been thinking about this since I found out I was pregnant and I have decided to leave Camelot. To protect my unborn child." He said with determination.

A.N. Well here is another chapter of 'A pool and secrets'. Hoped you enjoyed it. Please read and review. I would just like to thank everybody for their wonderful comments so far.


	10. Chapter 10

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Ten**

The two men shared a comfortable silence. "I understand that you have to leave and I'm glad you have thought about this. But what are you going to do about it being your destiny to stay by Arthur's side? How are you going to do that while you are away?" Gaius asked.

"I have been thinking about that to. I was thinking that we could keep in contact with each other. You will need to keep an eye out and send me a message when something happens. I am going to speak to the dragon; he may have some answers about what could happen. He may also know of a place that I can stay where it is safe. I'm sure that if anything were to happen I could get the dragon to take me wherever I am needed." Merlin said.

"Hmm, yes I think you should talk to the dragon. He may have some insight into what is happening. When were you thinking of leaving? Obviously, before you start to show, so within two months I would presume."

"I'm not sure. I have to make sure that nobody will know where I have gone or make it obvious that I am leaving. I will write some letters that you can give to people explaining why I have gone hoping that they will not try to find me. Though with how much of a stubborn person Arthur is I'm sure he will try to track me down and yell at me for being lazy." Merlin said.

"But what are you going to say in the letter that explains why you have left?" Gaius asked.

"Again I'm not sure. How about 'can't stand you anymore don't follow me?' How does that sound?" Merlin joked.

Gaius just stared at Merlin his disproval showing clearly. Merlin sighed; he stood up and started pacing. "I'm not sure what I am doing Gaius. It wasn't meant to be like this. Arthur is meant to marry Gwen and I am to watch over him. I don't know why this happened! Arthur doesn't even love me! To make things worse he had no idea that we even slept together!" Merlin was getting more and more distressed as he continued to pace the room.

Gaius stood and walked over to the young wizard before him. "You need to calm down Merlin. Stress is not good for you at the moment. Was the king acting peculiar before he was starting to burn up?" Gaius asked.

"No. He was hurt, we found the cave, and he had a drink from the pool, washed his face and then went to sleep. A couple of hours later he started to burn up so I woke him up. Next thing I know he is kissing my neck saying that I smell nice. He was acting weird and I know I should have stopped him but it felt so good and I wanted it so much. Why am I telling you this? I am so ashamed." Merlin said placing his face in his hands blushing like crazy.

"That is weird behaviour for Arthur. What could have made him act like that I wonder? Hmmm. Did you drink from the water?" Gaius asked.

Merlin thought for a second trying to think back to that night just over two weeks ago. "No I don't think that I did. I washed my face with the water but I didn't drink any. Could that have been it? But what pool of water can make somebody desire another? I have never heard of such a thing." Merlin said. He continued to pace trying to think. He stopped when he remembered something else that had happened that night. "I remember something else. When we were about to leave and I was staring at the water trying to avoid Arthur's eyes the water rippled and I swore I saw the image of a baby in the water. Do you think it showed me mine and Arthur's baby?" Merlin asked.

"I'm not sure Merlin. I have never heard of a pool that can make someone desire another and show you the future. I think this is something else that you need to discuss with the dragon. He has more knowledge on magic than I can ever give you. When will you speak to him?" Gaius asked. He noticed that Merlin started to look a little sick again so he beckoned the young warlock to sit back down at the table.

Merlin sat at the table for a minute taking in deep breaths. "I'm not sure; I think I should talk to the dragon as soon as I can. I just don't feel so well at the moment." Merlin said putting his head on the table.

"You don't look so well either. I think that you should lie down and get some sleep. I will wake you round dinner time. I'll make some soup. Hopefully you will be able to keep that down and if you feel better then you can go call the dragon." Gaius said helping Merlin to stand.

"Alright. Thank you for your support Gaius. I would not have survived in Camelot long if it wasn't for your help and support." Merlin thanked the old man helping him to bed.

"Always Merlin. I will always be there for you and now your little one as well. Now sleep and I will wake you up later." Gaius watched as Merlin fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. It broke his heart for Merlin to have to go through so much heartache in his life. _'Hopefully with the child he carries he will find the love he needs.'_

"Do you think Merlin will be okay in the morning?" Arthur asked his future queen over dinner. He had been pushing his food around on his plate lost in thought. Gwen reached over and placed her hands over the kings.

"I'm sure he will be fine. He just has the flu and will be well in no time. He has been sick before. You know that he is as stubborn as you are." Gwen teased trying to calm her worried intended.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I am not stubborn, Merlin I agree but not me." Arthur sniffed. "I don't know what is wrong with me. I just feel like there is something wrong with Merlin that he is not telling me about. I know he can be cryptic most days but something feels different about him." Arthur looked into the eyes of his fiancée and realised that he was babbling. "Sorry. You were saying something before I interrupted you."

Gwen smiled. "It is fine Arthur I know that you and Merlin share a special bond and that you would be worried for him."

"I wouldn't call it special." Arthur shifted uneasily in his chair.

"Of course, how silly of me to even suggest such a thing." Gwen said with a wide smile spread across her face.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Quite right. Now you were saying?" Before Gwen could answer there was a knock on the door. Arthur sighed. "Come in."

Sir Leon entered the room and bowed to the king and his future queen. "My lord. Some knights have found a young woman unconscious outside of the gates. We have taken her to Gaius to have a look at her. She looks very poorly and seems to have travelled a great distance." Leon said in a hurry.

Arthur and Gwen looked at each other concerned. "I will be down shortly." Arthur said to Leon. With a bow Leon turned and headed down to Gaius' chambers. "Do you wish to come down as well?" Arthur asked Gwen. They both stood when Gwen nodded and started to head down to Gaius' chambers.

When they arrived at Gaius' quarters, the young woman was starting to awake. She bolted up from her lying position screaming. Gwen rushed over and sat beside the young woman pulling the woman in her arms. "Shhh. It's alright you are safe. There is nothing to be frightened of."

"Please don't let her hurt me!" The woman screamed.

"Who? Who is trying to hurt you?" Gwen asked concerned.

"Morgana! She attacked my village. My parents told me to run and I haven't stopped running. Please don't give me to her!" The young woman started to break down into hysterics.

Gwen pulled the woman in tighter and brushed her hair away from her face. "It's alright. You don't have to worry. You are in Camelot and we would never give you to Morgana." Gwen started to rock the woman and soon she fell fast asleep. "The poor woman. We need to help her Arthur." Gwen said pleading to the king.

"Of course. How is she Gaius?" Arthur asked turning to the courts physician.

"She is fine. A little exhausted and she seems to have travelled a long distance. She should sleep through till morning." Gaius said. He was looking at the young woman with sympathy.

"Okay then I will leave her in your capable hands and come see you tomorrow." Arthur took hold of Gwen's hand and headed for the door. He stopped and turned around to face to old man once more. "Oh and how is Merlin doing?"

"He is resting at the moment sire. The flu has really wiped him out." Gaius said pointing to Merlin's room where he rested peacefully.

Arthur nodded muttering a thank you to Gaius before he left with Gwen on his arm. Leon trailed behind the king and his intended.

"Merlin. Merlin it's time to wake up now." Gaius was sitting beside his charge shaking his shoulder trying to get him to wake up. After a few more shakes Merlin started to awaken. He rolled over and looked at Gaius with sleep still clear in his eyes.

"Is it that time already Gaius?" Merlin asked. Gaius nodded and he sat up in his bed rubbing his eyes. "It felt like I was only asleep for ten minutes." Merlin let a huge yawn as he stretched out his body.

"Yes well you have been asleep for quite a few hours. Do you feel right to go talk to the dragon or will you be going tomorrow?" Gaius asked helping the young man out of bed.

"I feel good so I think that I should talk to him tonight." Merlin said.

"Well I think you should eat and then head out to talk him then. Be careful; oh and before I forget we have a guest." Gaius said.

Merlin stopped in his tracks. "What? Who is it?"

"The guards found a young woman unconscious outside of the gates tonight during their patrol. She woke for about ten minutes screaming about Morgana attacking her village and coming after her."

"Interesting. Did you get any other information from her?" Merlin asked.

Gaius shook his head. "No she fell back asleep before anybody could ask her anything. Now I think you should eat something. You are eating for two now don't forget." Merlin sighed being pushed out of his room by the older man.

Merlin reached the clearing he usually met with the dragon and spoke the words to summon the dragon. He stood there for about ten minutes when he heard the sound of the dragon approaching.

"Young warlock it has been sometime since you have summoned me. What information do need from me at this point in time." The dragon asked staring down at the wizard.

"I have a few things to ask you tonight. I wanted to know if you knew of a pool of water that lies deep within a cave. When a person drinks it, it makes them start to desire another and want to be intimate with that person." Merlin said blushing. "It can also give somebody a glimpse of the future."

"Hmm that sounds like Daira; the pool of desires. It sends a person into a frenzy trying to find the person they greatly desire. But it does not show the future. It can show you what your heart desires. Why do you ask Merlin?" the dragon peered down at the servant looking into his eyes.

"Because Arthur and I came across a pool of water hidden in this cave, he drank the water and a couple of hours later he started to get flushed. I woke him up and then he kept saying I smelt nice and was kissing my neck. Next thing I know we are sleeping together. Arthur didn't remember what we did so I let it go. But my magic started to feel weird lately and so I asked Gaius. He came to only one conclusion and that is that I am pregnant with Arthur's child." Merlin rushed.

The dragon took a step back in shock. "Could you be the consort from the prophecy?" The dragon asked speaking aloud.

"What?" Merlin asked not believing what the dragon had said.

A.N. I am so sorry that this is such a late update. I have started back at college and did not have a chance to update. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review.


	11. Chapter 11

**A pool and secrets **

**Chapter Eleven**

"The consort of legend. The one who the king loves above all, who bears his heirs and is a constant support by his side. You must be the consort of legend Emrys. I knew from the first day you came to see me in my prison that you were special." Kilgarrah said.

"I think your time in Uther's prison has you confused. Arthur doesn't love me and never will. Furthermore he will never know that this child I carry is his. Arthur is marrying Gwen and she will be the one to carry his heirs. She is the chosen consort not me. I mean, Arthur does still not trust in people that can use magic. That is why I need to leave Camelot; until I know that my child will be safe." Merlin said. He had gotten right up close to the dragon so that he could convey his honesty.

"You plan to leave Camelot? How will you protect Arthur from those who misuse magic? How will you keep him safe if you are not by his side?" Kilgarrah asked leaning his head down to look into the young warlocks eyes.

"I have thought about that. I will find somewhere safe and Gaius has agreed to keep a close eye on Arthur for me. He will contact me when I am needed. I am not just going to leave Arthur alone so that anybody can harm him. That's why I need to find somewhere that is close by but I am not going to have to worry about people finding me. I was hoping you would know of a place where I can stay until it is safe for me return." Merlin said. As he was talking he was twisting his hands hoping the dragon would understand why he would want to leave. "I love Arthur with all my heart but I could not bear it if any harm came to my child." Merlin had tears come to his eyes.

The dragon looked down upon the face of the emotional warlock before him. "You have merit in your reasoning young one. I believe that I know of such a place, but I will make sure that it is still free. When would you wish to leave?"

"If all goes well I will want to leave in a month or two. A month would probably be better." While Merlin was speaking he unconsciously placed his right hand over his stomach. "I definitely want to be gone before I start to show."

"Fair enough young warlock I will investigate your future living arrangements and will be back within the month. I will always try to assist you in any way I can." The dragon said.

"Thank you so much Kilgarrah." Merlin said as the dragon bowed and took off. One he could not see the dragon anymore, Merlin turned and headed back towards Camelot.

Gaius was checking on the young woman when Merlin made it back from speaking with the dragon. He looked relieved as soon as he saw the young man enter their chambers. "I'm glad that you have returned safely. I was beginning to worry. Let us talk in your room. We don't want the young lady to wake and hear our conversation." Gaius said. Merlin nodded, he was staring at the young woman before he started to follow Gaius up to his room. Merlin helped the old man sit on his bed before standing across the room from him. "So what did the dragon have to say did he have any answers to your problems?"

"Well I'm not so sure that the dragons mind is quite on track at the moment. He said that the pool of water that Arthur drank from was called Daira. It apparently sends somebody into frenzy trying to find the one they greatly desire. Which means the pool that we found was not Daira; as Arthur does not desire me and beyond that one night he never will. To make matters even more unbelievable when I told Kilgarrah that due that incident I was pregnant and that Arthur was the father he started saying that I was the consort of legend." Merlin spoke as he was pacing back and forth in his room.

Gaius stared at Merlin as he spoke not saying a word. He could see that what the dragon had said to Merlin had shaken him greatly. "What did he mean by consort of legend?" Gaius asked. Merlin paused in his pacing when Gaius spoke; he sighed before sitting beside the old man resting his head in his hands.

"He said that me carrying Arthur's heir means that I could be the consort of legend. The one who the king loves above all, who bears his heirs and is a constant support by his side. This can't be me Gaius. Arthur doesn't love me; he loves Gwen and will be this consort of legend." Merlin began to cry softly. "I just can't deal with all this stress Gaius. I just wish that destiny and fate would leave me alone. What have I done to deserve such heartache?" Merlin wept. Gaius pulled Merlin into his arms; trying to comfort the young man he saw as a son.

"I know Merlin. I know." He started to rock the young man hoping that it would calm him down as he really should not be stressing in his condition. "Did he say that he will help you find a place to stay?" Gaius asked.

"He said that he may know of a place and that he would be back within a month to take me there if it is safe for me to live there."

"I'm sure in his own way Merlin that Arthur does truly love you. The amount of times that he has looked out for your back the same you do him proves it; in my eyes at least. One day he will understand that he does love you very much." Gaius stroked the young man's head as he spoke. He paused when he did not receive an answer from the young man in his arms. "Merlin?" Gaius pulled Merlin away from his chest so that he could see his face. "You would fall asleep. Whatever am I going to do when you leave? Miss you greatly I would presume." Gaius gently laid Merlin's head down on his pillow. "Let's get you to bed." With great difficulty Gaius pulled Merlin's cover out from under his sleeping body and covered him up. He stared at Merlin as he rolled onto his side and snuggled up to his pillow. "One day you will have the life you rightly deserve young one. Until then you need to be strong." Gaius pushed Merlin's hair away from his eyes before he turned and left to check up on his patient.

Merlin was following Arthur as he made his way from the training grounds to the armoury after a hard day of training with the knights. When he happened to spot Gwen and Ravenna, laughing and looking at one of the stalls, as they travelled through the market. Ravenna was the young girl that the knights had found during their patrol almost two weeks ago now. Gwen and the young maiden seemed to have become fast friends.

Arthur noticed that his servant had stopped and was no longer following him like he should. "Really Merlin one day I might end up sacking you." Arthur said as he made his way over to Merlin.

"What?" Merlin asked. He turned his head to look at Arthur as he approached. "What did you say? That you will give me a raise?" Merlin laughed.

"Ha! Like that will ever happen. You would have to do a good job first. What were you staring at any way?" Arthur asked. He looked over to where Merlin was looking when he spotted his future bride and Ravenna browsing at a stall. "Do you fancy Ravenna Merlin? Is she the reason you have been a bit spacey these last two weeks?"

"What? No!" Merlin nearly screamed. Arthur looked sceptical at his servant before winking at him.

"Okay sure. I believe you." He said before he waved at Gwen who had noticed them while they were talking.

"I do not and never will fancy her. I just, there is something about her that I do not trust is all. I get this feeling that we should not trust her, that she has a hidden agenda of some sort." Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes as he spoke.

"Right Merlin. A young woman whose family was attacked by Morgana has a hidden agenda. What do you think that she plans to kill me or something? She is harmless. She needs our help. Ravenna is another example of how volatile Morgana can be. I think that you are becoming more paranoid than usual Merlin." Arthur laughed. "You can come up with the funniest things Merlin." Arthur turned and was still laughing as he made his way to the armoury. "What will you come up with next?" Merlin turned to look at the two women again before he followed Arthur.

Arthur was still laughing as he made his way into that armoury. "What has you in such high spirit my lord?" asked Gwaine. All the other knights were staring at the king as Merlin came in. Arthur stopped and turned to look at his knights.

"Merlin thinks that we should be wary of Ravenna. That she has an ulterior motive for seeking our help from Morgana." The knights joined Arthur in his laughing.

"Ha ha. Laugh at me all you want I still get a weird feeling from her." Merlin glared at all the men before him. He stormed over to Arthur ad began to mumble about stupid men.

"What was that Merlin?" asked Arthur. Merlin paused to look up into Arthur's eyes. His breathing picked up as they stared into each other's eyes. A bang from one of the knight's armour broke their locked gaze.

"Nothing." Mumbled Merlin with a blush lighting up his face. Once he had removed all of the kings armour Merlin took it over to a stool and began to polish it. Arthur left with his knights but Gwaine remained.

The knight walked over to the servant and sat beside him. "So what was that staring match between you and Arthur?" Gwaine asked. Merlin did not look up from what his doing as Gwaine spoke.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Merlin said.

"Playing that game again huh?" Gwaine sighed. The knight sat with Merlin as he polished Arthur's armour.

Arthur stood at the head of his meeting chamber addressing his people. "We have had reports that Morgana is attacking villages and making these people work for her or face death. Furthermore we have had reports that she is attacking her own people. We must be vigilant during these times and look out for one another. So far she has not attacked any villages close to Camelot. I believe that this is because, although with all her powers, she still fears us." Merlin stared at Arthur as he gave his speech to the people. He had always had a way with words, and as he looked at all the people in the room, he could see that he was building the respect and faith of the people before him. This was one of the reasons why he loved the king.

As Merlin was looking out at the people as Arthur spoke Merlin saw glint of light flash before his eyes. Confused he looked around trying to find where the flash of light had come from. When he looked up at the balcony he saw Ravenna standing up there aiming a crossbow at Arthur.

"No!" Merlin screamed. Without thinking he ran over to Arthur. Everybody looked confused as Merlin rushed over to Arthur. Merlin ran in front of Arthur and took an arrow to the chest.

"Merlin!" Screamed Arthur. He caught Merlin in his arms as the wizard fell before him. He looked up to where the arrow had come from and saw Ravenna running away.

A.N. Well here is another chapter for A pool and secrets. Again sorry it's late. Hope you enjoy. Read and review


	12. Chapter 12

**A pool and secrets **

**Chapter Twelve**

"Knights! Catch her! Do not allow her to escape!" Arthur yelled to the knights as he was rocking Merlin clutched to his chest. He could not understand how this had happened. Arthur pulled Merlin's limp body in closer, holding him in a near death grip. He had trusted Ravenna, allowed her sanctuary from Morgana. Arthur looked up as somebody kneeled before him. It was Gaius.

"I need to look at him Arthur. You need to let him go." Gaius said worried. Arthur nodded giving Merlin one last hug before he pulled the wizard away allowing the physician to look at Merlin. Arthur turned and noticed that Gwen was standing right beside him with tears in her eyes. She reached over and hugged him but he could not bring himself to hug her back. He was far too worried about Merlin to think about anybody else. "We need to get Merlin to my rooms; I can look at him better there. Perhaps one of the knights would be so kind…" Before Gaius could finish Arthur had already scooped Merlin into his arms carrying him bridal style to Gaius' chambers. Gwen stayed behind knowing that there was nothing she could do to help besides co-ordinating with the knights while Arthur was busy.

When they arrived at the chambers Arthur gently placed Merlin on the physician's bed he has for his patients. He stepped back but to the side so he could see everything that the old man was doing. Gaius knelt over merlin and ripped his shirt from around the wound. "Hmm…" Gaius mumbled.

"Hmm…what? Is he going to be okay? He is going to be okay right? Right Gaius?!" asked Arthur hysterically. As he was talking he moved closer and closer to the old man.

Gaius raised his hands trying to calm Arthur down. "He should be fine Arthur. The arrow did not go anywhere near his heart. I can remove it without any serious damage. Merlin most likely will be out for a couple of days. But I am hopeful that he will only be out for a couple of days." As he finished speaking Merlin started to come around.

"G-Gaius…w-what's going on? Why does my chest hurt?" Merlin's breathing started to increase as he got more and more stressed. "Arthur?! Is he alright Gaius?!" Merlin tried to sit up but fell back down screaming in pain.

"Arthur is fine Merlin. You saved him." Gaius spoke to the confused young man before him.

"That's good…" Merlin's head dropped to the side as he passed out unconscious.

"Merlin!" Screamed Arthur. "Help him Gaius!" shouted Arthur.

"I am trying to do that Arthur but your screaming at me isn't helping. Now I need you to go over to my medical kit and find a blue liquid." As Arthur ran to do as the man asked Gaius examined the wound again making sure that if he removed the arrow Merlin would not start bleeding out on him. When Arthur returned with the liquid Gaius took the vial and opened Merlin's mouth. He poured the liquid down his throat and rubbed Merlin's throat to make sure that it was swallowed.

"What was that liquid for?" asked Arthur.

"It's to make him sleep calmly while I tend to his wound. Now I am going to need you to go over to the fireplace my lord and pour me some of the water that is boiling. I will also need those cloths I have on the shelves in the right hand corner." Gaius asked the king.

"Hot water. Cloths. Right, I will be right back." Arthur raced to do as the old man asked. When he came back he noticed that Gaius had removed Merlin's shirt completely and he could see where the arrow had been shot. It was to right of his chest just below his shoulder. The arrow most likely would have got Arthur in the chest near his heart if it had hit who it was intended for. Arthur placed both the water and cloths on the small table beside Gaius where he had already set up a small bowl filled with this revolting green mixture.

"Thank you Arthur." Gaius said looking up at the king. He turned back to Merlin and grabbed hold of the arrow. Giving a gentle pull he pulled out the arrow and placed on small table beside him. The wound started to bleed so Gaius dipped one of the cloths in the hot water and gently wiped the blood away. He continued to do this until he could see the wound.

"Is it deep?" asked Arthur.

"No. He should be fine and should not lose any function of his arm." Gaius said to the king. He grabbed the green paste from the table and applied a generous amount to the wound. Once he had applied enough paste he started to bandage the young man's chest. "I will need your help my king to sit Merlin up so that I can properly bandage his wound."

Arthur nodded and helped Merlin up so that the old physician could bandage Merlin's chest. Merlin's head was moving from side to side as if he was in a dream of some sort. Once the bandage was on properly Arthur lay him back down and Gaius put a blanket over him. Gaius picked up the water that was now a shade of red from Merlin's blood. "I will just go dispose of this water. You will watch him won't you my lord?" Gaius asked.

"Of course Gaius." Arthur said. As the old man left Arthur sat down next to Merlin and stared down at him. Merlin's head continued to move from side to side and Arthur could hear him mumbling something. Arthur moved in closer to try and hear what Merlin was mumbling about. He could barely hear what he was saying so he moved closer so that his face was right beside Merlin's.

"Mmm…Arthur…I…love you…" Merlin mumbled. Arthur jumped back in shock. Just as he was moving in to make sure that he had heard right Gaius came back followed by Gwaine and Gwen. Arthur jumped up from the chair acting as if he wasn't as close to Merlin as he was.

"How is he?" asked Gwaine. "Will he be alright?" He rushed over to Merlin and sat down in the chair that Arthur had just vacated. Gwaine reached over and moved Merlin's fringe from in front of his eyes.

"Merlin will be fine. He should be awake in a couple of days." Gaius said as he walked to the side of Gwaine.

"Did you catch Ravenna?" asked Arthur.

"Yes. She is in a holding cell as we speak. Ravenna was trying to escape via the underground tunnels." Said Gwen. She walked over to Arthur and pulled his hand into hers giving it a squeeze. "She has not spoken since the knights have caught her trying to escape. Perhaps she will speak to you Arthur?" Gwen dropped Arthur's hand and walked over to Merlin. "I am glad that Merlin is okay. He looks very peaceful."

"Right well we should leave Merlin to rest and Gaius to attend to his patient. I will go see our prisoner to see what she has to say for herself. You will notify me straight away if Merlin's condition changes won't you Gaius?" Arthur asked.

Gaius nodded his head. "Of course, my lord. Straight away." Arthur gave the old man a nod and he left followed by Gwen. Gwaine gave Merlin's hand a squeeze before he reluctantly left. Gaius turned back to the sleeping warlock and sighed. "Let us find out how your child is Merlin. I truly hope the baby is okay for your sake."

When Arthur and Gwen made it to the holding cells Ravenna was sitting calmly on the cot provided in the cells. She did not look up as Arthur approached the cells. "Why did you try to kill me? What grievance have I caused you?" Arthur asked.

Ravenna turned to look at the king with cold eyes. "The killing of my family and my people puts blood on your hands."

"When have I ever killed your family or people? What people do you speak off? I have done no such thing." Arthur said moving closer to the bars. "You do not seem like the person that would try to kill someone."

"The druids. You and your father are the reason that our people hide and live in fear." Ravenna said standing up from the cot and making her way over to the bars. "You make me sick. You boast about the coming of a new age and the equality of all life. And yet the laws against magic users are still valid."

"I have always found the druids to be peaceful people and I have never killed any of them. I would never take another's life unjustly." Arthur said.

"Liar. When lady Morgana gave me this task I was more than happy to complete it. If only Merlin had not got on the way. I would have been successful."

"You know where Morgana is?" Arthur asked. "You are sentenced to death for treason but if you were to tell me where Morgana is I will reduce your sentence to life."

Ravenna scoffed and turned away from the king. "I would rather die. I wish I could have still been alive to see Morgana spill your blood all over Camelot's steps. For her to bring a new age where magic is freely used amongst the people without fear of death. I will take my sentence King Arthur." Ravenna said as she sat back down on the cot and faced the wall not paying any attention to the king and his future bride.

"I am sorry to hear that Ravenna." Arthur sighed. The king turned and left the dungeons heading for his rooms.

"Ravenna, please think about what the king has offered. I know that there is kindness in your heart and that you must have had a proper reason for doing this." Pleaded Gwen. When she received no answer from the young woman she also left for her rooms; missing the tears leaving Ravenna's eyes.

Arthur got ready for bed in a daze thinking about all the events that had transpired that day. But he just could not get past one specific event. _'Merlin said that he loved me. I must have been hearing things. Or I just took it the wrong way and he really meant that he loves me as a friend. Yes that must be it. He won't even remember saying anything so I will just let it go because that is obviously what he meant. I mean there is no why that Merlin loves me more than a friend right?' _

A.N Another chapter. Hope you liked it. I was rushing trying to get you this chapter today. I am soooooooo sorry it took so long but you know life always seems to get in the way. I will try to get another chapter out to you this weekend but no promises. Read and review.


	13. Chapter 13

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Thirteen**

It had been three days, from when Merlin took an arrow for Arthur, when Merlin started to wake up. He felt groggy and was not aware of his surroundings. When Merlin opened his eyes he shut them immediately due to the bright sunshine that blinded him. He winced turning his head away before trying again with better success. Flashes of memory began to come back to merlin and he jolted up from his lying position screaming. "Gaius?!" screamed Merlin; not paying attention to the great pain he was suffering.

Gaius came running, as fast as his old age would allow, from Merlin's room where he had been tidying up. "Merlin! You are awake. What are you doing sitting up? You should be lying down." Gaius said.

When the old warlock reached Merlin his clothes where grabbed by said wizard. "My baby! Gaius, please tell me that my baby is alright! Please!" Merlin screamed hysterically.

"Please settle down Merlin. Your baby is fine. I have been keeping an eye on it. Your magic created a protective bubble around the baby when you were hit and I had to put you under. That is why your wound is not healing as fast as usual as your magic is keeping your baby safe. So calm down, please. Take deep breaths." Gaius said. Merlin had started rocking backwards and forwards with tears streaming down his face when Gaius had told him the news.

"Oh thank you. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost my baby." Merlin cried. Gaius sighed before pulling the young man into his arms.

"I know Merlin. I know." Gaius began to lay Merlin back down on the bed. "Now let me check to make sure you have not damaged your wound.

"Gaius, how is Merlin doing? Does he look as though he will awaken soon?" Came a voice from the door as it opened. Gwaine entered the room and looked to where he thought Merlin would be sleeping. "Merlin! You are awake!" Gwaine laughed came over to hug the man he loved. He was stopped by Gaius who raised his hand to stop him.

"Oh no you don't. All I need is for you to make is injury worse by man handling him." The old physician chastised the knight.

"Sorry Gaius. I was so happy I did not stop to think." Gwaine said. Gaius checked Merlin's wound while Gwaine filled Merlin in on what had been happening since he got injured. "We caught Ravenna. She is still in the holding cells as her execution is tomorrow. Arthur has been beside himself with worry. Hasn't he Gaius?" said Gwaine with a sly smile.

"That's funny Gwaine." Said Merlin.

"Your wound looks good. I want you to take it easy for at least a week. No heavy lifting for at least two more weeks after that. Do you hear me Merlin? King Arthur will have to continue to make do with your replacement." Gaius said staring at the young man.

"Yes Gaius." Merlin sighed. "Does this mean that I am able to get out of bed?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course not. I want you on bed rest for at least another day or two." Gaius said sternly. Merlin sighed again; pouting this time. "You will do as I say."

"Okay I get it." Said Merlin

Arthur had just finished his breakfast when there was a knock on the door leading to his chambers. The servant replacing Merlin entered when he called for him to come in. "Ahh Migrin you are right on time. I have finished breakfast so I will be getting dressed and then heading down to see if Merlin has awoken. Did you put my clothes out yet?"

"No, I am sorry my lord I am running behind. I will do it now my lord." Migrin said sheepishly. He was just about to go and get Arthur's clothes but Arthur stopped him.

"It's alright. I can do it. You just go and take breakfast away okay?" Arthur said. Migrin bowed to Arthur then he went and retrieved Arthur's breakfast plate. But as he was lifting the plate it slipped out of his hand and landed, along with the leftover food, on the floor. Arthur winced as the loud sound rang out throughout the room.

"I am so sorry my lord I am such a klutz. Please forgive me." Migrin said. He fell to his knees and began to place the food back on the plate.

"It is quite alright. I do not expect you to be as good as Merlin was, it has only been three days since you have started as my servant." Arthur said. He paused when he realised what he had said. _'Since when have I talked so nicely to somebody else about Merlin? What is happening to me? Ever since I heard Merlin say he loves me in his sleep I have not been able to get him out of my head.'_ Migrin picked everything back up and made his way down to the kitchens. Once Arthur was dressed he made his way to Gaius's chambers that he shared with Merlin.

When Arthur arrived he noticed that Merlin was awake and was currently talking to Gwaine. Arthur noticed that Merlin had a wide smile on his face and was laughing. He lost himself in Merlin's happy face for second before he realised he was just standing in the door way so he made his way over to the two men. "So you are finally awake. What were you thinking taking that arrow for me? You could have been killed." Arthur spoke angrily.

"You could have died as well if it had hit! Better a servant dies than the king. I was only trying to protect you!" Merlin yelled.

"Did I ask for your protection? No! I do not want anybody dying for me! Especially you, Merlin!" Arthur yelled back. He was so angry that he was unaware of what he was actually saying.

"What?" asked Merlin. He sat up so that he could get a better look at Arthur. He did not understand what Arthur meant.

"Never you mind! So how long will you be out of action? Because I am starting to really like your replacement. He is much more efficient than you ever where. Maybe I should make the change permanent?" Arthur said snidely.

Merlin glared up at the king. "Fine if that's the way you feel. Do it then. See if I care." Merlin said lying back down and turning his head away so he would not have to look at the infuriating king.

"Now now children. Settle down. We all know that that will never happen. Arthur, Gaius said that he would like for Merlin to be on bed rest for at least two days and for him to rest his arm for at least a week. No heavy lifting for at least two more weeks after that." Gwaine said smiling at the antics of the two men before him. _'Their antics will never get old.'_

"Right. Well I will give you two more weeks off Merlin and after that you start back up at work again. You will call another servant to lift something if it is too heavy." Arthur said.

"But if I don't start for two more weeks then I will be…" Merlin said before he realised what he was about to tell the two.

"You will be what?" asked Arthur intrigued.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Merlin said. "If you will both excuse me I am rather tired." He truly was tired and he found himself nodding off before either of the two men could answer him back.

Both men stared at the sleeping form of the wizard. "I wonder what he was going to say." Said Gwaine.

"Who knows with Merlin." Arthur said before leaving to attend to his kingly duties.

It had been two weeks since Merlin was shot with an arrow protecting Arthur. Ravenna had been hanged for her crimes the day after Merlin had awoken. He was glad that he was not able to attend due to him being on bed rest. Merlin was upset yet happy at the same time. Today was the day that he would start work back as Arthur's servant. It was also the day that Kilgarrah would be back to take Merlin to his new residence for during his pregnancy. His relationship with Arthur had been even weirder of late. Merlin would find the king staring at him sometimes but when he looked back at the king, Arthur would pretend that he was busy with something else. He wished that he could have spent more time with Arthur before he had to leave but the king also seemed to be avoiding him as much as he could. Merlin was extremely confused with the behaviour of Arthur.

Merlin arrived early that morning carrying Arthur's breakfast. He had to fight with Gwaine to even carry it here because the knight thought that it was too heavy for him to lift. Merlin knocked on the door and when he received no answer he assumed that Arthur was still asleep so he entered. And as he thought Arthur was sound asleep spread out all over his bed. Merlin smiled wondering how he could possible spread so far. He placed the food down on the table and went over to wake up the king. When he reached the bed he noticed that Arthur was awake and staring at him. "Sorry I thought you were still asleep." Merlin said blushing.

"I was until five seconds ago. It was not too much trouble you bringing the food was it? How is your shoulder?" Arthur asked getting out of bed and heading over to the table. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"It is fine. Why does everybody keep on treating me like an invalid?" Merlin sighed. Merlin watched Arthur eat for a little before he turned to leave. When he made it to the door he paused. "I just wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me so far Arthur. I truly do see you as a great friend." Merlin said before leaving. Arthur stared at the door, where his servant had just left through, looking very confused.

It was extremely late that night has Merlin got ready to leave to meet with Kilgarrah. He had in a roundabout way said goodbye to everybody he held dear in his heart. Merlin turned to Gaius as he also getting ready to meet the dragon with Merlin. He will truly miss the old man.

"Merlin I have been thinking. If you are leaving here so you won't be found out as having magic, what will you do if somebody comes upon you at your new residence as a pregnant man?" Gaius asked.

"I have not truly thought about that to be honest. I was going to place spells around the surrounding woods to alert me if somebody was coming and I thought maybe I could magic up a disguise." Merlin said shrugging.

"Yes well that would be very tiring on your magic, keeping a disguise running while you are pregnant. I have been looking I found a spell that will lengthen your hair and I have packed a few dresses that you could wear in such an instance." Gaius said.

Merlin contemplated that scenario and he saw the benefit of it. He could live with long hair if it meant keeping himself and his unborn child safe. "Okay, I think we should do that. It makes much more sense." Gaius showed Merlin the spell and once Merlin had performed the spell he had hair that now ran down till his bum. Wanting to see what he looked like Merlin went over to the small mirror on Gaius' working table. "Wow, I truly do look like a woman now. Don't I Gaius? I agree this is a good disguise. Right I am all packed now and I think it is time to go." Merlin said. Gaius nodded his head and grabbed some bags following Merlin out the door.

When they arrived at the small clearing Kilgarrah was already there waiting for the two men. "I am glad to see you again young warlock. I believe we should get going before morning is upon us." The dragon said.

Merlin nodded. Gaius and Merlin placed all the bags that the young man would need upon the dragons back. Once he was ready to go Merlin turned to Gaius and pulled him into a hug. "I will truly miss you Gaius. You have been like a father to me. I will always love you. Remember to keep me informed of what is going on in the palace." Merlin said with tears pouring out of his eyes.

"As I will also miss you Merlin. You must remember to take care of yourself and the little one growing within you. They depend on you for the rest of their lives." Gaius said. He pulled Merlin in tighter before letting go. The two men shared a silent moment, before Merlin hopped upon the dragon and they were flying away. Gaius stayed to watch until he could no longer see them.

A.N So here is another chapter. Sorry I didn't get it out last weekend but I think the middle of the week is still good. Hope you enjoy. Read and review. Also thank you all so much for the reviews so far. They have been great and have given me a lot of confidence.


	14. Chapter 14

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Fourteen**

When Arthur awoke he sat up in his bed and looked around confused before he noticed that he was awoken by the sun blinding his eyes. "Really Merlin? You had to nearly blind me. You could not wake me up like a normal person?" Arthur complained rubbing his eyes. Arthur paused before looking around the room. "Merlin?" Arthur asked. As the king was getting out of bed he heard a knock on his bedroom door. "Enter." He called expecting it to be his wayward servant running late as usual.

It was Sir Leon who entered looking confused seeing the king still not dressed for the day. "You are not ready my lord? You are late for training with the knights, my lord." Leon said bowing.

"What?! Is it that late already? Why didn't Merlin wake me up?!" Arthur asked as he rushed to the divider he uses to get dressed. When he realised that Merlin had not put out his clothes he rushed back around the divider. Arthur was fumbling trying to remember where his clothes were kept as he mumbled about incompetent servants. When he was dressed he put on his shoes as he looked up at Leon. "You have not happened to see Merlin today have you?" Arthur asked.

"No, my lord." Leon said. "I have not seen him around at all today. Perhaps he has hurt his shoulder again and is being treated by Gaius." Leon suggested.

"Hmm…maybe…I will have to see after training is over." Arthur said rising from his bed. "And if he is not there, I am seriously considering firing him." Arthur said annoyed.

It was midday when Arthur came barging into Gaius's quarters looking very angry. "Is he here?" he asked the older man who sat as his table stunned.

"Who my lord?" Gaius asked trying to sound confused.

"Merlin. You know my servant who is looking like he will be finding new employment soon. He did not arrive this morning to wake me up for training with the knight. This means I woke up late and did not have enough time to eat breakfast this morning. Leon said that maybe he had hurt his shoulder again and you might be treating him. So where is he?" Arthur asked angrily.

"I'm not sure, Sire. I assumed that when he was not here this morning that he was off doing his duties." Gaius said.

"Where could he be?" Arthur contemplated.

"I'm not sure. Have you tried that tavern?" Gaius asked.

"No. Maybe I should. If you see him could you tell him that he is in serious trouble?" Arthur told the old man. When Gaius nodded his head Arthur turned and headed for the tavern. When Arthur arrived he walked over to the owner who was behind the bar. "Have you seen Merlin, my servant, at all today? I cannot find him." Arthur asked.

"No, my lord. I have not seen Merlin for at least two to three months. I'm sorry I could not be of any more help." The tavern owner said.

"Fair enough. Thank you for your time." Arthur said before leaving. He was heading towards the throne room when he bumped into Gwen and her lady in waiting.

"Arthur." Gwen smiled. "I heard that you were late to training this morning due to a wayward servant." Gwen laughed.

"Yes. Merlin is nowhere to be seen. I wish he would stop just disappearing one of these days." Arthur said. He grabbed Gwen's hands, comparing them slightly to Merlin's, and kissed one. "When I find my wayward servant, as you say, did you wish to meet for picnic my future wife?" Arthur asked. Not fully listening to her answer as he was trying to think where Merlin could be. "Sorry? My brain was wondering somewhere else. What was your answer?" Arthur asked.

"I said I would love to but I have court with the women to attend to this afternoon." Gwen said smiling up at her future husband a little but upset that he did not listen to her the first time.

"Of course! How could I forget? This thing with Merlin disappearing has really thrown me out of whack today. Arthur said. "Oh Percival!" Arthur called when he spotted the knight walking down the walkway. "Excuse me Gwen. I must talk to Percival." Arthur said kissing Gwen's cheek goodbye. Gwen sighed then left to attend her meeting. "Percival I need you and some others to look for Merlin I can't find him anywhere." Arthur said as soon as Percival made his way over to the king. Percival nodded before leaving to do as his king asked. Arthur made his way to his throne room to wait for the knights searching results.

Merlin felt so free travelling on the back of Kilgarrah towards his new home. It was so thrilling watching everything go by below them as they flew above. Merlin had never felt so free in his life. This feeling was starting to make Merlin realise that he had never truly been free to live his life during his time at Camelot. Merlin felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. This is the time where he starts to live his life for him and his child. Where he won't have to hide who he truly is, he could truly be himself without fear. Merlin leaned back with his arms raised taking in the wind sweeping through him. He was on cloud nine and he could distinctly hear Kilgarrah laughing along with him.

"We are almost there young warlock. Perhaps you would like to hold on for the decent." The dragon warned.

"Of course. I lost myself for a second there." Merlin said lowering his arms. He started to look around trying to see if he could see the place he will be living for the next few months or maybe even years. Merlin saw a forest of trees with a small field in amongst them. His heart started to race when he noticed that Kilgarrah was flying down to that field. He did not know what to expect considering that nobody had lived there for a very long time. When they landed Merlin took in a deep breath before he slid down from the dragons back.

"Go look at your new home young warlock." Said Kilgarrah.

"You are sure that it is safe?" Asked Merlin with a hand placed over his growing child.

"Yes young one. Nobody has lived there for quite some time." Said the dragon.

"But how do I know it is safe to live there if no one has lived there recently. What if it is totally run down? How can I carry my child in a house that is unliveable?" asked Merlin worriedly.

"You have no need to worry Merlin; I would not bring you to a place that I felt would harm you or your unborn child. Go. Go now and look at the small cottage that you will be staying at." Replied Kilgarrah.

"Okay. Can you please come with me?" Asked Merlin. He noticed that the trees where very tall and spread evenly enough apart that the dragon would have been able to travel through quite easily. Once the dragon had nodded Merlin took the first step towards his new future. They travelled for a few minutes before they came across a small quant cottage. It had foliage along the roof but the door way was clear. "It looks beautiful. How can it still look so good?" asked Merlin in awe.

"Magic young one." Replied Kilgarrah.

Out the front of the cottage was a huge garden of flowers. Merlin breathed in the refreshing smell of the flowers. He then walked up to the front door which was below an arched roof. There were two windows on the front of the cottage both a clear glass. Tentatively Merlin opened the door and walked inside. He gasped; there was a table and chairs to the side of the room near the cauldron and fire pit. The whole house still had everything that he would need; from plates, bowls and cutlery to a lounge sitting area. Merlin was so amazed; he noticed three doors and decided to investigate what was behind them. He found two beautifully decorated rooms that he just fell in love with behind two of the doors. Behind the last door he found that it led to small washing area which led to the back garden. Merlin gasped as he found that there truly was a garden full of fresh growing fruits and vegetables. Although there were a sparse amount of vines overlaying that he would have to get rid of.

"I have never truly loved magic as much as I do right now. Thank you, Kilgarrah, for finding me such a magical place to carry and raise my child." Merlin said to Kilgarrah who had come around the side of the cottage. He had small tears streaming down his face; which he discreetly tried to wipe away.

"You are welcome Merlin. Now we should get all your stuff packed away." Said Kilgarrah.

Arthur sat around the round table discussing the issues in the kingdom with his knights and advisors. He was not paying attention to what was being said so he missed when Leon had asked him a question. When he felt Gwen grab his hand he focused back onto the meeting. "Sorry? I was not focusing on the meeting." Said Arthur. Out the corner of his eye Arthur noticed that Gwen was looking at him in concern.

"King Vincent from Emerald wishes to meet with you to discuss matters he did not divulge to his messenger, my lord." Leon said.

"Right I will have to arrange a time that I can go there or he can come to Camelot." Arthur said just as there was a knock on the door. "Enter." He called. The door opened and Percival and the other knights who were searching for Merlin entered the room. "Did you not find him?" Asked Arthur worriedly.

"No Sire." Percival said with a bow. "We searched everywhere in the citadel. He is not here." Just as Percival finished speaking there was another knock on the door. "Enter." Arthur said distractedly. He was hopeful when Gaius entered until he saw the tears leaving the physicians eyes. "Gaius? What is wrong? Is it Merlin? Have you found him?" Arthur asked panicked.

"He…He has left Camelot." Gaius said in tears.

"Who?" asked Arthur.

"Merlin" Gaius said holding up a letter.

A.N. Well here is another chapter. Life has been hectic lately but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.


	15. Chapter 15

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Fifteen**

"What?!" screamed Arthur. "Why would he leave Camelot?" he asked standing up and rushing over to Gaius, ripping the letter from his hands. Arthur began to read the letter not believing that Merlin could have left him.

'_Dear Gaius,_

_I am afraid that I must leave Camelot as something has happened and I must take care of it. I am not sure how long I will be gone for or if I will ever be able to return again. You mean so much to me and it breaks my heart that I will have to leave you. You have been like a father to me and I want you to know that I love you very dearly. Please tell Gwaine that he has been a great best friend and I will never forget him. I'm sure that Arthur will read this letter so I am telling you Arthur that I am sorry I have left without saying anything to you but I felt that you would not understand the reason I had to leave. I wish you all the best and I'm sure that you will make a great king and I wish I could have been around to see it. Before you think of it I have not gone home to my mother. So you should not send anyone there or anywhere else to try to find me. This is something I have to do by myself; I hope one day you can forgive me. Goodbye._

_Merlin'  
_

"No, this can't be true. He wouldn't just leave." Arthur said in denial. He was staring at the letter in his hand in shock when it was ripped from his hand. Arthur looked up in shock to see that Gwaine was also desperately reading through the letter. This pulled him back together and he called for his knights. "Leon! I want you to take a group of men and go to Merlin's mother's house. Gwaine I want you to go and see if you can find any tracks pointing to where he may have headed." Arthur commanded.

"But Sire, did Merlin not say he would not be there and for you not to try and find him?" asked Leon.

"I know what he said in the letter and I don't care!" yelled Arthur. He paid no mind to the startled looks from the others in the room as he was too focused on where Merlin could have gone. "He could not have gotten that far! We must look for him!" Arthur screamed. When he turned around and noticed that everybody was still standing there looking shocked he got angry. "Why are you all still here?! Leave now!" Everybody jumped and began to leave the room except for Gwen who remained behind.

She came up behind Arthur and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You need to calm down Arthur. Getting stressed and angry will not help." Gwen said trying to make her voice sound soothing.

"Please Gwen I just wish to be left alone right now. I know you mean well, I just don't wish to hear it at the moment." Arthur sighed.

Gwen paused before she smiled and turned to leave the room. "As you wish, Arthur. Just remember that I am always here if you wish to speak." Arthur did not reply he just stared off into space.

It had been three weeks since Merlin had disappeared during the night with no explanation. Arthur sat in his chair as the knights talked about what has been happening in the kingdom and in their allied kingdoms as well. He sat not paying attention to meeting. The knights were unable to find Merlin at his mums; discovering that he had sent her a letter similar to the one he had left for Gaius. Gwaine also was not able to find any leads of where he might have gone. Arthur felt that this somehow was his fault. _'Why would he leave? Perhaps he finally had enough of me being mean to him and left? It has never bothered him before. Right? But where would he go? As far as I know he has never been anywhere besides his village, Camelot and wherever I have had to travel. Those dreams do not help me to focus on where he may have gone. They feel so real as if it is a distant memory. I wonder what they could mean.' _Arthur's dreams focused on the ones he had been having before Merlin had left. Where Arthur and another person had been in the throes of passion; except this time he actually got to see the person he was sleeping with. Arthur had been extremely shocked when he awoke from the dream finally seeing that it was Merlin he was sleeping with. He could not believe that he had been fanaticising about making love to Merlin for months now. Arthur was pulled from his thoughts by a hand being place on his. When he looked to see who had touched him he found Gwen smiling at him sweetly and the others looking at him in question. "Sorry, I was not paying attention. What did you say Leon?" Arthur asked pulling his hand away from Gwen and placing it in his lap. Things had not been going so smoothly between the couple as of late. Arthur has noticed that he seemed to be pulling away from the woman he supposedly loved.

Leon cleared his throat. "Right, King Vincent from Emerald still wishes for you to travel to Emerald and meet with him. He is becoming upset since he sent the first messenger about a month ago about the time that M…" Leon did not finish his sentence. The king has become quite angry of late at the mention of Merlins name.

"Right, well I should leave for Emerald then. I believe we should leave in the morning as it is getting close to dark." Arthur concluded the meeting and made his way to his bed chambers; not paying attention to Gwen who was trying to get his attention. When he made it to his room he collapsed on his bed trying to get his thoughts off of Merlin.

Merlin was kneeling on the ground taking care of the garden when he noticed a bird fly down beside him. He recognised it as one of the messenger birds Gaius and himself used to communicate to each other with. Merlin took the letter that was attached to the bird, picked up the basket full of fruit and vegetables before heading inside. The wizard placed the basket on the table and sat down opening the letter.

'_Merlin_

_It has been a month since you have left and Camelot still seems to have not gotten over your absence. Arthur seems to be taking it particularly hard. He has been able to focus on his duties ever since you have left. I too find it hard to manage without you. I hope you and the little one are well. I wish I could get away and see where you are living. The way you have described it in your letters sounds truly magical but I can wait until you are ready to have your child to see it. Onto other matters, as promised I also wright to tell you that Arthur leaves in the morning for Emerald. He plans to set out with a small handful of knights including Percival, Gwaine and Elyan. Please be safe and do not do anything that will harm yourself or your child._

_Gaius  
_

Merlin finished reading the letter and placed it on the table. He looked down to his stomach where it had begun to form a small bump. "We had best go and watch over daddy, little one. He will always need us to protect him." Merlin stood and headed to his room to get changed. With a great scowl on his face he changed into one of the dresses he kept for these very purposes of potentially meeting with other people. So far he had not needed to go anywhere where other people lived. He has been able to survive so far at his little cottage. Once he was dressed and had packed anything he may need on the trip, Merlin headed to the small field where Kilgarrah had landed that first day. The dragon often came to see Merlin during his stay in the cottage. They had grown quite close with one another and Merlin found the dragon extremely insightful with male pregnancies. Once Merlin arrived at the field he sent out the call to bring the dragon to him.

Merlin did not have to wait long for the dragon to arrive. "You have called for me young one?" Kilgarrah asked. "I see by your attire that we are going somewhere?"

Merlin blushed. "Yes, I have just received a letter from Gaius saying that Arthur has left for Emerald. We need to fly nearby and keep an eye on him."

"As you wish." Kilgarrah said bowing low so that the young wizard could climb up on his back. Once Merlin was positioned on the dragons back the two took off in search of the kings travelling party.

Arthur and his knights had been travelling for most of the day when they decided to make camp for the night. The king had to push thoughts of Merlin out of his head during the journey, considering that it was on his last trip back from Emerald when they were ambushed by Alar and his men. Arthur sent his new servant and Gwaine off to look for firewood as he helped make camp for the night. The new servant was nowhere near as good as Merlin was. He was clumsy and still after a month of being in the king's service still forgot things. Arthur sighed and sat on a nearby boulder. There was a small scream and then the next thing Arthur knew they were surrounded by a group of ten men. Arthur cursed his thoughts that had distracted him. The scowl on his face got worse when he noticed that it was Alar and a couple of his men that had surrounded him again.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the king of Camelot." Alar smirked. He looked around at all the knights before turning back to Arthur. "No Merlin? Oh, that's right he left you." Alar lent his head back and laughed. "Even your precious servant couldn't stand to be around you. How pathetic." Alar said.

"You bastard!" Arthur screamed and he lunged at Alar. That was the signal for everybody to start to fight. Alar blocked Arthur's lunge but that did not stop Arthur. He just kept attacking Alar, but it did not seem to be giving him the advantage. In fact Arthur was starting to become more fatigued. Arthur stumbled on a rock, falling to one knee; luckily he recovered enough to raise his sword to block Alar's attack. It was Alar's turn to attack and he seemed to be gaining an advantage. Arthur swung his sword too far and left his abdomen wide open. Just as he expected Alar to stab him, Alar was lifted off the ground and thrown meters across the ground. Shocked Arthur spun around trying to see who could have done such a thing as it was obviously performed by somebody with magic. He looked up to a hill to the right of him and noticed a woman wearing a green dress standing up there with her arm raised. She seemed to pause before she took off running into the forest. Arthur tried to go after her but his path was blocked by one of Alar's men.

When the knights had defeated the rest of the men Arthur looked around to see if they had caught Alar. He cursed and kicked the dirt when he noticed that Alar must have gotten away after the witch flung him away from Arthur. "The witch! Elyan, take a few men and see if you can find her. She was up that hill over there." Arthur said pointing the way. Percival came over to stand beside the king when they left. "Did you see that witch up on the hill? She saved me. I wonder why somebody of her kind would try and save me. Most I have met hate me and my father or they try to kill me. Not save me." Arthur asked deep in thought.

"Perhaps there are some who wield magic out there that do not hate you and are looking out for you my lord." Percival stated.

"Maybe you are right. For a split second I thought it was Merlin but then I noticed it was a woman." Arthur laughed trying to lift the mood. Just then there was a groan and Gwaine walked through some bushes carrying Arthur's servant. "It seems that you were taken out from behind. Not good for people to sneak up on you. Perhaps you should train better." Arthur laughed.

A.N. OMG! I am so sorry for the extremely late update! Everything just kept piling up and I lost track of things. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter. I hope that people will still read my story even though it has been so long. Please read and review. Thanks.


	16. Chapter 16

**A pool and secrets **

**Chapter Sixteen**

Once Merlin realised that he had given away his position by using his magic and Arthur looked as though he was going to pursue, merlin ran away. He ran as fast as he could, hoping that Arthur was not right behind him. Merlin was heaving for air when he finally made it to where Kilgarrah was waiting. "What has you so exhausted Merlin? Were you discovered?" The dragon asked worried.

"Yes. I used my magic to save Arthur's life and he saw me from where I was keeping watch. We must leave and find another hiding spot." Merlin said hurriedly.

"Of course, young one. Climb up and we shall leave. I believe that I know of another good spot to hide." Kilgarrah said.

With a quick thank you Merlin climbed up on the dragons back as well as he could wearing a dress and they flew away.

As they passed over the forest Merlin caught glimpse of Arthur and the others. He let out a sigh when noticed that everybody was okay. Kilgarrah landed in a small opening in the forest not far from the group from Camelot. Merlin jumped down from the dragons back when said dragon bowed low to the ground. "Hopefully his trip to Emerald does not have any more surprises." Merlin said to the dragon.

"Hopefully not. Be careful this time won't you Merlin?" Kilgarrah said worriedly. Merlin ignored the dragons comment and left to watch over Arthur and the men.

Arthur sat beside the fire deep in thought. Never would he expect a witch or wizard to ever save his life. After everything that his father has put their people through. He had to admit himself that he also had not shown much kindness towards people with magic. _'I wish Merlin was here right now. He would know what to say about what had happened today. Merlin always knows what to say to make me understand and make the right decisions.'_

Arthur was broken out of his thoughts when Gwaine sat down beside him. "Can you not sleep Arthur? Still thinking about that witch that saved your life today?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes. I still don't understand why she would wish to save me." Arthur said. After a long pause Arthur turned to Gwaine. "Do you think that I and my father have been wrong about people with magic? I mean I have always known that the druids are usually peaceful people but I would never expect one of them to save my life. I don't know what to think." Arthur said. He noticed that the fire was beginning to dwindle so he picked up a few sticks and chucked them on the fire.

"I do not know what to say Arthur. I have never run across any magic users during my travels. That being said I may have but never known due to the threat that if they ever showed their craft they would be killed. It was a very brave woman who saved your life today as she would have known that if caught, she would have been put to death due to the laws." Gwaine said.

"I wish Merlin was here; he usually knows what to say. I can't believe I'm saying this but he usually gave good advice. I really miss his company some days. It is weird to wake up and not have his sarcastic comments coming at me while I eat breakfast. Sometimes I accidently call Gerald Merlin." Arthur confided. His new servant had always corrected him nervously every time he did.

"I know what you mean. The other week I did not think and I walked all the way down to Gaius' chambers to ask Merlin a question. It just does not seem like the same Camelot without him there. Hopefully one day he will come back sound and safe" Gwaine said patting Arthur on the shoulder as he stood up.

"I just can't believe he left without saying goodbye or telling anyone where he was going. He has always been by my side and had my back. It upsets me that he did not trust me enough to have his back when he needed it." Arthur said looking away trying to will himself not to let the tears flow.

"I think that Merlin left because he did not want to make you choose between your friendship with him and your duty to Camelot. I am not 100 percent sure but that is how I feel. Also, I believe that he is thinking about you as much as you are thinking about him." Gwaine said to Arthur. "Well I should go and replace Percival keeping watch. You should go to sleep Arthur and think about these matters tomorrow. We have a long journey still ahead. Arthur did not answer him so Gwaine walked away with a sigh.

Merlin was sitting down beside the small fire that he had created earlier that night thinking about what had happened today. It had been very emotional to see Arthur again after a month. He was rubbing his belly where his and Arthur's child was currently growing.

"You should rest young one while you can. I will keep an ear out for the others." Kilgarrah nudged Merlin's shoulder with his snout.

Merlin looked up at the dragon and smiled. "Alright, I will try to get some sleep Kilgarrah. I was just thinking about Arthur. I feel guilty that he doesn't know that I am having his baby but I also feel that this is the right thing to do at the moment as he still shares some of his father's ideals. Perhaps one day both of them will know the truth." Merlin said sadly still rubbing his belly.

"I'm sure one day your dream will become a reality. There is one destiny that may lead to that." Kilgarrah said.

"I don't think so. I don't think he can ever know, I mean even if he allows magic in the kingdom one day, what will that do to his relationship with Gwen. I do not wish to cause trouble for anybody." Merlin said sadly. The young wizard stood and stretched before he made his way over to the dragon, curling up beside him and pulling the blanket up over himself.

"Of course, young one." Kilgarrah said before noticing that Merlin was already asleep. The dragon smiled down at the young man who was tucked around his growing child protectively.

Arthur and his men had arrived at Emerald the next day long before the sun set. They made their way through the gate and rode their horses to the courtyard where Arthur noticed King Vincent waiting with his knights and advisors. Arthur sighed; it was not like he hated the king, he just disliked some of his views. Uther was the one who was friendly with King Vincent. When they arrived Arthur was the first one to get off his horse and made his way over to the king of Emerald.

"Ahhh you have finally arrived Arthur! I did not think that you would ever reply to my message with a visit." King Vincent said with his arms raised.

"I am truly sorry some matters of great importance came up that I had to attend to." Arthur said shaking the hand of the king.

"Ah yes I heard that your servant ran away and you sent your knights to search for him. Personally I don't see how that is important but to each their own." Vincent said with a smirk. Arthur grit his teeth and forced a smile on his face; okay so he did hate this man. "Anyway I have prepared a feast in your honour. Along with some entertainment that you can indulge in considering your lovely fiancée did not travel with you." Vincent said laughing as he entered the hall. Arthur cursed the man before following him inside the castle.

It had been two weeks since Merlin had travelled with Kilgarrah to watch over Arthur. Arthur and his men had stayed at Emerald for two days before travelling back home, not encountering any problems. Merlin was sitting down on a stool attending to his flowers when he noticed the spells go off notifying him there were people on their way to the cottage. Merlin panicked and stood quickly running into the house. He ran to his bedroom and pulled out one of the dresses quickly getting dressed in it. Merlin started to feel sick so he rubbed his noticeable bump trying to soothe his nerves. The wizard made his way to the window and noticed a group of five men walking towards his cottage. Taking in a deep breath and brushing his hair away from his face he calmly walked outside.

"Can I help you?" Merlin asked when they got closer. He did not like the look of them and that made him even more nervous than he was.

"We were just travelling looking for a place to stay and we noticed your lovely cottage." One of the men said checking Merlin out from head to toe. He appeared to be the leader of the group.

"I'm sorry but I do not have any rooms available for you to stay. There is a village not that far from here with a bed and breakfast; I am sure you will like it there.

"I am sure I will like it here a lot better. Aren't you a pretty thing? Wouldn't you like to have some fun with me?" The first man sneered licking his lips.

"M-my husband will be by shortly and he will not be pleased to see you here." Merlin said willing his magic to surface.

"That is nice to know considering I do not see a ring on your finger." The leader pointed out. Merlin cringed and squeezed his hands together.

The men laughed at Merlin; one of them was staring at his stomach. "Look boss, she is pregnant. Must be keen for men to bed her if she isn't married." They all laughed at his words and the leader began to advance on Merlin.

A.N. Not that great of a chapter but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Please read and review.


	17. Chapter 17

**A pool and secrets**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Merlin was just about to use his magic to defend himself when one of the men in the back raised his sword and attacked his travelling companions. Merlin just stared at the scene before him. He could not see the man's face as he approached so he stepped back and raised his arms ready to defend himself once more. The man raised his arms in a gesture that Merlin was sure was meant to calm him.

"It's alright Merlin. I won't hurt you." The man said. Merlin looked confused as at the man. He held his breath as the man reached up and pulled his hood off. Merlin looked the man before him with his medium shaggy hair, young face and blue eyes. He thought that the young man looked familiar but he could not quite put his finger on it. "You don't remember me? Well I suppose you haven't seen me since I was a kid" he smiled giving a small chuckle.

Merlin looked at the man before him trying to remember when all of a sudden he looked startled. "Mordred?" asked Merlin. He could not believe that the child he helped save so many years ago was the same man standing before him. Just then Merlin heard Kilgarrah storming through the trees. When the dragon reached Merlin and saw that a stranger was standing near him, he moved forward to attack. "No Kilgarrah!" screamed Merlin. "He is an old friend. Remember when you were still trapped at Camelot and I spoke to you about rescuing the young boy named Mordred. This is him. He just saved my life from the men who are dead on the ground." Merlin spoke reassuring the irritated dragon.

Mordred was staring at the dragon in astonishment. He could not believe that he was standing in front of a real dragon. "You have a dragon as a pet?" asked Mordred.

Kilgarrah bristled in anger at the comment. "I will tell you now young warlock I am not and never will be somebody's pet. Merlin and I are friends. Now tell me why you are here and I may spare your life. He did not hurt you Merlin, did he?" Kilgarrah asked staring down at the young warlock.

Merlin smiled and walked over to the dragon giving his chest a hug. "No Kilgarrah, he did not. The baby and I are fine. Thank you for worrying about us, it means a lot." Merlin smiled laying a hand on his ever growing stomach.

"I felt that you were in trouble and I came rushing here, hoping I would be here on time to help. I am glad you are safe young one." Kilgarrah said nudging his snout gently against Merlin. Merlin and Kilgarrah turned to Mordred when they heard a laugh.

"You both look so cute." Mordred said. He took a step back when the dragon turned his sight back on him with a glare. "Okay. I'm sorry. Anyway you wanted an explanation right?" Mordred asked.

"That would be nice, but before that I need to sit down. My feet and back are killing me. Do you mind if we go inside and discuss this? Kilgarrah can still hear us inside." Merlin said pressing his hands to the small of his back. When both Mordred and Kilgarrah nodded Merlin headed inside to sit down. He walked over to his favourite seat and gestured for Mordred to sit down also. Mordred hesitated for a second before he sat on the chair across from Merlin. "Okay Mordred you can talk now." Merlin said once he was comfortable; well as long as he is going to be while pregnant.

"Right, well you know how when you saved me I went to live with the druids." Mordred said pausing to wait for Merlin's nod. "Well I lived with them for years learning about my powers and spells. Sometime last year our group was attacked by a group of men, who then led us to Morgana. She gave us a choice, work for her or she would bind our magic. She remembered me from when I was a child and offered me protection. I joined her and she placed me with a group of men; led by a man called Alar."

"Alar works for Morgana?" asked Merlin.

"You know of him?" asked Mordred.

"He used to be a knight of Camelot but Arthur sent him and his brother away. One day we were travelling back from Emerald when Alar and his men attacked us. He slashed Arthur's arm and during our escape Arthur and I got separated from the knights. But let's not talk about that; please continue what you were telling us." Merlin said trying not to think of the night he and Arthur conceived the precious child growing within him.

"Well I have been with Alar and his men for a couple of months. I was travelling with those four men because I left Alar's group and they offered me work. I am sorry they tried to hurt you Merlin" Mordred said as he grabbed Merlin's hand that was resting on the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. Merlin smiled shyly before he extracted his hand from the young wizards.

"Well I am glad that you helped me. I was about to attack with my magic hoping that it would actually work as my powers have been wonky during my pregnancy. If you don't mind me asking why did you leave Alar and his men?" Merlin asked looking up at the young man in confusion.

"I could not stand to be a part of his group any longer. Not to mention that I found the woman I love torturing a young girl just because she came from Camelot. I wish that we could be free to practice our magic but I will not hurt others to get it." Mordred said looking pained. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Merlin standing behind him. "I did not even hear you get out of your chair" Mordred said.

"I may be the size of a house but I can still be stealthy when I want to be" Merlin laughed. He squeezed Mordred's shoulder once more before he walked over to the kitchen area. "Would you like some dinner? I am absolutely starving." Merlin said.

"Please let me help you." Mordred said as he stood to help.

"Nonsense, you sit back down and make yourself at home. I have to thank you for saving me." Merlin said as he wagged his finger at the young wizard. As Merlin cooked he and Mordred started talking, getting to know each other better.

-AMAMAMAMAM-

Arthur sat in his study going over documents for Camelot. He could not help to think about Merlin as he set to his task. The king's mind seemed to always be wandering to his missing servant of late, even more than it used to. He thought of Merlin from when he woke up till he slept at night, even then most nights he dreamt of the man as well. Except with his dreams Merlin and himself did a lot more than talking; he was beginning to think they were not just a figment of his imagination. It had been three weeks since he had first encountered the witch who saved him and a week since he had encountered the same witch again who gave him and his knight's aid once more. He had could not get his head around the woman who was beginning to change his mind about magic users. _'Next time I leave somewhere I will have one of my knight's hide and hopefully they can catch her so that I may speak to her.' _

Arthur sighed before picking up a scroll about the guard duties of the knights. When he heard a knock on the door he told the person to enter not looking to see who it was; figuring it was probably Leon or Gwaine.

"We need to talk Arthur." When Arthur heard the voice he looked up shocked to see his fiancée.

"I don't really have time at the moment Gwen. Can it not wait?" he asked.

"No it cannot. We must speak now." Gwen said. Arthur sighed and gestured for her to sit in the chair across from his desk. "I am sure you have noticed that our relationship has been a bit strained as of late." Gwen said.

"I would not say that" Arthur said. He looked at Gwen who was holding herself proud and firm; she seemed determined. Arthur could not help but think that he may not enjoy this conversation very much.

"Well I would. I have decided that it is best if we stop pretending that you still love me." Gwen said.

"But I do love you Gwen. I am sure that we can work this out." Arthur said as he stood, walking around his desk to kneel in front of the woman he was to marry. Gwen smiled placing her hand over Arthur's cheek. Arthur closed his eyes and pressed his face into Gwen's hand.

"You may have in the past and you may think you do now, but I know that your heart yearns for another" Gwen said. At Arthur confused face she continued speaking. "You may not be willing to admit it, but I know your heart belongs to Merlin. I believe it always has, you just have not been able to admit it." She allowed Arthur to think on her words, hoping that he will be able to finally admit his feelings.

"You are right. I do love Merlin, but I can never marry him. I need to produce heirs and he has left Camelot. I do not know that I will ever see him again." Arthur said sadly grabbing his aching chest. "That's why I must marry you. No matter how much it pains my heart."

"I am sure that he will return to you. We should not get married for the sake of children. I'm sorry Arthur but I have decided that I am going to leave Camelot for a while. I cannot marry you." Gwen said wiping away the tears that had fallen from her eyes. "I will return one day. Hopefully the news of our separation will be replaced with your marriage to the man you love." Gwen said as she stood to leave. "I will be leaving tonight in the cover of darkness. Goodbye Arthur. I hope your dreams become a reality." With one final smile Gwen was gone and Arthur was left in ruin on the floor. He could not understand how everything could be going wrong in his life.

A.N. Sorry it has been so long. I know it is not much but hopefully people enjoy the direction me story is headed. Please read and review.


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